AD tracking and the resulting spam

Computer Security, Opt-out-of-ads, Privacy

The PROs and CONs of interest based advertising

Never has the term “Pros and Cons” been more applicable in an ironic duality, in my opinion!

The PROS love interest based advertising!

success targeted spam from interest based tracking

  • Professional Marketing people love it because they can focus ads on a defined demographic.
  • Professional Site owners running ads love it because it increases the chances an audience member will click on an ad that pertains to an interest and they will then make some money.

The CONS love interest based advertising!

  • Spammers and scammers love it because they can target an audience!

OPT OUT

You must opt out from every device and every browser!

Do you use a few different browsers on your computer? Even if you opt out of interest-based ads by Google on one browser (like Chrome), you may still see interest-based ads by Google on your other browsers (like Internet Explorer and Safari). The same applies if you use multiple computers or devices.

Opt out of interest-based ads on all browsers and devices that you use.

If you delete or clear your browser’s cache and cookies after opting out you may have undone your opt out for that browser!

Ads Based On Your Use Of Websites Or Apps like Facebook

One of the ways ads reach you is when a business or organization asks Facebook to show their ads to people who have used their websites and apps off Facebook. For example, you might visit a company’s website that uses cookies to record visitors to it. The company then asks Facebook to show their ad to this list of visitors, and you might see these ads both on and off Facebook. This is a type of interest-based advertising.

You only need to opt out once. If you opt out of interest-based advertising from Facebook on one phone or computer, we’ll apply that choice everywhere you use Facebook.

FACEBOOK OPT-OUT of Ads

Under your privacy settings in Facebook there is an interesting little section called “Ads”
the choices above are available there but they are also tracked…

FACEBOOK SAYS…

Don’t believe the part about you only have to opt out once!

From personal experience I have never been able to opt-out of “ALL” successfully on any browser on any device. Also every time I return to those sites I must opt out again!

GOOGLE Opt Out of Ads

You can opt out of interest-based ads by Google through Ads Settings. When you opt out, you’ll still see ads but they may not be related to factors such as your interests, previous visits to other websites, or demographic details.

See: https://support.google.com/ads/answer/2662922?hl=en

Where your opt outs will apply

Your opt outs will apply to interest-based ads in the following places:

Google Search and other Google products like Google Maps and Gmail
Sites across the web that are part of the Google Display Network.