Have you ever talked about something really specific with a friend, perhaps a new hobby or a quirky item, only to see ads for that exact thing pop up on your social media feeds hours later? It's a common, sometimes creepy, experience. But what if those conversations happened on an app that promises total privacy, like WhatsApp?

Many people have noticed a peculiar pattern. They'll have a private chat about a topic they've never searched for, and then, without fail, ads related to that very topic start showing up on platforms like Instagram or Facebook. It feels like a digital eavesdropper is listening in, even when the app says it can't.