I have posted about this before, so will keep it short.
I require an instagram account (well multiple actually), for business.
I have to have the app as doing it in browser strips it of some features that i need.
When i moved from android to ios, i noticed immediately that ig was advertising things to me that i was either searching for in browser (brave), or that i had watched on apple tv 4k, OR simply discussed in person (tested).
As far as i can tell i have minimal permissions in my ig app, and all of the important ones (mic, camera etc) switched off.
I dont use siri, apple intelligence or any other hardware level assistant.
So my question is, how? How is ig able to assertain all of these things, quickly, if apple isnt providing it? Most probably would not notice, others would ignore it, but i noticed it immediately and have tried quite hard to make sure im not crazy. I also try very hard to be secure and private to the best of my ability. It is only instagram, and its only since swithcing to ios
They may already have a profile on you and now that you have moved to iOS, they can better advertise using all the data they may have already gathered. As to how it all happened, that would be hard to say since these companies have found some very clever ways to make profiles of all internet users. It would also depend on how your OPSEC was before iOS.
For now, all one can do is follow the best practices even when you have to use social media for work. Be as private and secure you can, all things considered.
A lot of the time the advertising posts will be within minutes of looking at something. I will give you an example.
I am setting up an online coaching program and was viewing multiple online softwares that can host the things I need. 2 specifically made the cut. 5 minutes later one of those was advertised to me on ig. Note, I was searching on mullvad, and have never logged into an account on it. I was therefore not logged into anything within the browser. This was on my MacBook
I open my phone, open it on an account not linked to said business, and one of the 2 softwares was in my feed within only a couple of scrolls.
Never been shown to me prior, never ever searched for on the ig account
What you’re describing should not happen if it is this accurate and egregious. I’m stumped too. There must be a reason I’m sure but I do not know what.
Why don’t you clear all your browser data/history/cookies and etc. Also flush your computers DNS and then reboot your system and have the VPN auto connect.
Do the same on iOS for good measure. And test this again if you can in a day or two.
The most obvious tool Facebook has to track you is Apple’s advertising ID.
If it’s disabled or you said no when the phone asked you if you wanted to give the app permission to track you then Apple shouldn’t be sharing anything with them directly.
But Meta/Facebook has also been developing a number of workarounds or simply finding independent ways of tracking people.
Any website with Facebook tracking has access to your ip-address which can be used to identify your household somewhat reliably at a given point in time. So this doesn’t necessarily require Apple providing Facebook with anything new.
In iOS privacy and security settings there’s an option for an app Privacy report.
It takes a week to generate anything but lists every domain contacted by every app. This can help point out apps that use Facebook tracking.
You could also enable logging in something like NextDNS and use it with either the Apple TV or the phone.