It is the time of year when I am invited to dispatch letters to Santa, in the form of emails that might include an amazon link.
I've noticed that if I just copy & paste the address from the browser, it includes a long random-looking string. I also notice that it is a different string when viewed on a different computer, so I assume amazon are using it for tracking - i.e., if the recipient clicks on the link, amazon can conclude that myself and the recipient are in some way associated with one another.
Same thing if I hit the button for share by email, it generates a much shorter random string, but the string generated on my iPad is different to that generated on my PC, so again I suspect amazon are using it to track my social life, and build up a database of the people I communicate with.
'Share by email' also tries to coerce me to login to amazon even though I can see no need for it other than, once again, so amazon can get to know who I'm talking to.
Or... is there a less paranoid explanation?
