One of the great things about Etsy is the ability to find things you never knew existed, or needed. I have spent far too much time just scrolling through pages of search results finding more and more cool stuff!
Etsy does try to help us find new stuff by suggesting things they think we’ll like. This is mainly done on the “Our pick for you” section on the home page.
The items displayed are based on the listings you’ve purchased, as well as the searches you’ve made and the listings you’ve viewed. Using this data they can get a decent idea on what they think you’ll like.
But sometimes Etsy gets it wrong. Really really wrong. There are many stories of users being shown very inapproriate listings, or listings against their values. In these cases it’s best to either let Etsy know you don’t want to see these items, or remove the personisaed section all together
How Do I Get Rid Of “Our picks for you” On Etsy? To remove the “Our picks for you” section on Etsy you need to:
- Go to Etsy.com and login to your account
- Select the Privacy tab from the menu
- Scroll down until you find the Site Customisation option
- Turn this from On to Off
- Select Update Settings at the bottom of the page
- Go back to the home page and you will find the Our picks for you” section no longer shows
Why Would You Want To Clear Etsy Picks For You?
There are several reasons why you would want to remove the “Our picks for you” section on Etsy.
1. You don’t like what they are suggesting
This is probably the biggest reason I hear for turning the section off. This can include seeing inappropriate items, items that go against your values, or just simply finding the suggestions don’t fit your style.
I’ve also heard that they just don’t like they are shown on screen when they are at work. Many don’t like the idea that their friends and colleagues can see the suggestions over their shoulder.
2. It can spoil the surprise
Picture this. You’ve spent weeks searching Etsy for a special gift for your partner’s birthday. You find the perfect present, but then they use your laptop, and the “Our picks for you” section is covered in your latest searches and related items. Surprise, ruined.
This is the reason I have recommendations switched off.
3. You don’t like feeling followed or marketed to
It is an uncomfortable fact that you are being tracked on Etsy. They monitor every action you take, and they use that information to sell you things you may not have wanted before.
By switching off the personalised content you at least know they are not using your data against you.
How do I see less of something on Etsy?
If you like the “Our picks for you” section on Etsy, but just don’t want it to show the current recommendations you can clear your browsing history on the site. To do this you need to:
- go to Etsy.com and login to your account
- Select the Privacy tab on the menu running across the top of the page
- Find the Your recently viewed Listings section
- Click the Clear recently viewed Listings button
This will clear all information Etsy has stored on you from the last 30 days. You will start to find the recommendations shown to you will change and should be more appropriate.
How Does Etsy decide what to recommend to me?
Etsy uses several metrics to decide what to recommend to you. These include:
- recent activity (search terms, listings viewed, items purchased)
- your historic activity (favourited items for example)
- activity of other users similar to you
Using the information above they can find items similar to what you have viewed, items that will go well with what you’ve purchased.
The final point on this is that other people’s activities are now used. If a user similar to you (e.g. they have similar search and viewing histories) likes an item, then Etsy thinks you might like it too. This is when you see recommendations that seem completely unrelated to what you’ve been looking at.
Conclusion
Recommendations can be great. but only if they match your style, interests and beliefs. There are settings in Etsy that help you get the most out of the suggestions shown to you.
