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Gmail spooky fuckery: we're already somewhat aware that bots or actual Google humans are reading our emails but...do they ever INTERCEPT them?? (self.NoStupidQuestions)

submitted 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) by LemmyKnowsBest to c/[email protected]

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I noticed a weird phenomenon in my Gmail inbox, I had an advertisement email from Mercedes-Benz of Albuquerque which is understandable because I've been there before. I did not click on the email or open it because it's an ad and I don't care,

then maybe an hour later next time I opened my email I noticed the Albuquerque email was gone but had been replaced by a Mercedes-Benz of Loveland Colorado, a location I had never been to before.

Have you ever seen an email in your inbox change identities like that before? That is kinda spooky. A sender cannot revoke an email from my inbox and switch it for something else, can they?!

additional trivial details:

Until now the only Mercedes shops that ever send me spam email are those I've taken my vehicle to before. But I've never taken my vehicle to Loveland Colorado!

The only vibe I can feel about this fuckery is that my visit to the Albuquerque New Mexico location was unsuccessful and somewhat annoying and I may have been an annoyance to them as well, would they have me on their spam email list, then change their mind and switch me to some other location?

If so, they can't just dig into my email and rescind something they sent and switch it for some other distant location, can they? 🤔

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[–] PP_BOY_ 3 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Someone more technologically literate than me can probably put this into more accurate terms but I believe the ad spots on gmail are more like billboards than actual emails, so they can swap out the content or the ad without changing its placement in your feed.

[–] LemmyKnowsBest 1 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

I understand what you're talking about, but when I get those billboard type of ads, they always appear in the Gmail "promotions" section, always prominently located at the top of my screen and there's nothing I can do about it, but this particular Albuquerque / Loveland email was a proper email in my proper inbox. And bam! It switched identities. Nothing in my proper inbox has ever done that before.

[–] Retro_unlimited 2 points 11 months ago

I have had emails get into my inbox, just to be later removed by spam, maybe you just got another email after?