Google has launched a revamped ad settings page for its users allowing users to understand and control how the ads target them individually. The latest privacy-focused move from the company is due to the increasing concerns over how major companies and tech giants handle user data. This page lists a host of interests that Google has linked to the user based on their online habits. There are categories like Rock music, Computer Hardware, Online Shops, and others that appear alongside an estimate of the user’s age and Gender (if Google was able to identify them).
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The website is worth a look even if you do not want to tweak any settings, you can just take a peek at your online browsing habits and what it says about you in general. If you wish to limit Google ad targeting and have a keen interest in understanding what Google Knows about you, this page contains all the details. Follow this guide below as we have put together a quick flow on how to limit ad targeting.
How to Control Ads on Google by Limiting or Disable Ad Targeting
The Front and the center of the Google Ad settings page is a section that allows users to turn ad personalization on or off. This is where you can modify it and decide if you want Google to offer relevant ads based on its understanding of you. Turning this off will completely disable ad targeting and Google will only show generic ads to you and you might find that the ads shown to you are less relevant to you as a person.
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This is not a toggle switch for advertisements, you will still continue to see Google ads anyway, this option is just to make them less or more generic. Turning off this ad personalization is as easy as tapping on the “turn off” button, however, it is not something recommended for everyone. This does not even mean Google will stop gathering information about you, this liberty is forfeited when you start using Google’s services as a base of the privacy policy. If you turn off personalization then you will not see relevant ads, but Google will still collect information about you when you use their services.
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Another disadvantage of turning off personalization is that you can no longer customize the ads, this means that you will not be able to decide what kind of ads you see. For example, if you are fine with ads of energy drinks but do not want fashion adverts, you won’t be able to make this kind of adjustment to fine-tune your experience. You may choose to turn it off if you wish to, however, if all you want is not to be confronted by past interests then it is possible to disable it manually.
There are times when you see an Amazon product listing that you once visited on every website you visit, and it can even be an issue if that product was a gift or something private that you do not want other users of the device to see. You can also avoid the constant reminder that what you do online is tracked. If you keep the ad personalization switched on then you will see a list of categories, these are the topics Google thinks you might be interested in. You can keep them all switched on and you will see ads based on all of the items listed, or, you can turn off those that you don’t want.
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If you find an interest showing up on your Google which was temporary such as the purchase of clothes and then sees clothing ads everywhere, you can tap on the relevant section and choose turn-off. While we can not vouch for the effectiveness, it should reduce or completely eliminate Google ads regarding clothing. It is important to keep in mind that these changes will not affect all the advertisements seen online and will only affect Google ads. It is also important to know that Google’s suggestions might not line up exactly with your search habits either.
Google doesn’t read your emails, but ads can be based on much of your signed-in activity when using different Google Services. You might see many interests that don’t completely align with your real interests. It is also important to understand that you won’t be able to avoid targeted ads just by going to the incognito mode of your browser, Google collects data from the videos you watch, apps you use, things you buy, and searches you make. It is almost important to avoid being tracked if you use any if not all of Google’s services.
You can find more details on how Google ads work on the Google support page.
