How to stop ‘ad targeting’ from spoiling your Christmas surprises
Christmas is just over a week away, but if you’re like me, you’ll know there are plenty of online shopping days left in the calendar.
Over the last 12 months, there has been a significant rise in ‘ad targeting’, also known as ‘interest based ads’, which display ads based on your online browsing history (using cookies).
These can be pretty cool, but they can get pretty annoying too, especially if you’re buying online gifts for Christmas.
For example – if you’ve been shopping on PC World or eBuyer for a present, you may find ads recommending these websites and their products appearing on Facebook. Not so cool, if you’re trying to keep the gift idea a secret!
To prevent your Christmas from being spoiled, here’s a brief guide to limit ‘ad tracking’ of your online activity:
- Turn off your ad blocker (if you’re using one).
- Go to the Digital Advertising Alliance here, where you can op-out of this online behaviour tracking. By doing this, you are preventing these sites from displaying ads based on your browsing habits (collected by cookies).
- Once done, turn your ad blocker back on. We recommend Adblock Plus if you don’t have one already
- Don’t forget your mobile! If you’re on Android, go to Google Settings > Ads and check off “Opt out of Interest-Based Ads”. On iOS, go to general > Restrictions > Advertising and switch on “Limit Ad Tracking”.
- Although the Digital Advertising Alliance can help you to block these ads on Facebook, it’s worth checking out Facebook’s Ad settings here, where you can limit ad tracking even further.
Happy Holidays 🙂
Rhys Gregory
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