Have you ever shopped online for something and later saw that same item in an advertisement on your Facebook page? Congratulations, you are now a part of targeted advertising. But how do you opt out of online data tracking like this?
Targeted advertising refers to ad placement served to online users based on online data such as demographics, search history, and purchase history. Targeted advertising has become a very popular and intricate form of online advertising. According to the article, “How to Opt Out of Data Tracking on Your Most-Used Sites” by Max Knoblauch, you can opt out and disable the ability for websites to gather your personal information on some sites, but you cannot completely remove the advertisements without an ad blocker.
For those of you who are annoyed by these types of advertisements, Max has compiled a list of how popular companies are collecting and using your online data. He also includes links for you to quickly opt out.
Google’s Shared Endorsements
Shared endorsements pull your +1s, YouTube Likes and reviews from Google Maps and GooglePlay, then turns them into advertisements for your connections. To opt out of the advertising portion, scroll down in your Google+ preferences to the Shared Endorsements in Ads section. You will see the sentence “Based upon my activity, Google may show my name and profile photo in shared endorsements that appear in ads.” Make sure the box next to it is left unchecked if you wish to opt out.
Google’s Interest-Based Ads
Interest-based advertising by Google pulls your search history and web profile to gear advertisements for you. You can opt out of the ads both on Google and across the web in your Google Ad settings page. Scroll down to Opt-out Settings and follow the instructions there.
Facebook’s Social Ads
Facebook’s social ads show an action you’ve taken, such as Liking a page, alongside the message of an advertiser. You can turn this feature off by clicking on the Edit button in your Ads settings page, selecting No one and saving your changes.
Twitter’s Tailored Ads
Twitter’s targeted ad campaign matches your profile information and tweet archive to relevant advertisers. Opting out is easy. Through your profile, go to your Security Settings page and uncheck the box under the promoted content section.
