Why Is My Fiancee Seeing Ads for the Things I Have Bought?
In this week’s tech tips column on Lifehacker, I’ll tackle the internet’s biggest annoyance. Don’t yell at YouTube influencers or people who are better than you at Fortnite – I ‘m talking about targeted advertising.
A Lifehacker reader wonders if everything he does is tracked and advertised to him – or to his loved ones. I’ll let John explain:
Recently, I’ve noticed that my fiance is getting targeted ads on his phone based on my browsing habits. For example, when I was looking at wedding rings on my laptop a couple of months ago, she started seeing advertisements for the sites I visited on her Facebook and Instagram. I’ve been researching cars lately because I’m going to need a new one soon and of course she started seeing ads for cars on her social media.
A couple of years ago, I deleted my Facebook and Instagram accounts and tried to disable all forms of targeted advertising via Google. It looks like a serious invasion of my privacy and it really worries me. Also, I’m worried that at some point I might buy her a gift and Facebook will start showing her an ad for my gift and ruin the surprise. Is there a way to make my browsing data private? If I’m going to get targeted ads, at least I want them to be directed to my laptop and phone, not every device using our Wi-Fi router. I thought about starting just to constantly browse the web in incognito mode, but that seems like an extreme solution.
This is a funny question, that is, a question. This problem is of no interest to you, John, or to those who have to deal with the ubiquitous problem of advertising and tracking on the web.
First, to answer your question, I’ll start with an obvious comment. If you’ve used your bride’s phone or computer to view something, chances are it will appear in her online advertisements. I feel it doesn’t take long; I often find that a site or series of products that I was browsing the day before suddenly appears all over the place when I use Lifehacker. (And I use Lifehacker a lot.)
Assuming you keep your devices separate from each other, it is also possible that various ad trackers (or the services you use) take note of your location and / or IP address. For example, any other devices using the same external IP address (for example, all devices connected to your router’s Wi-Fi) will appear to belong to the same household , and it is that household that will target the advertiser – according to the false assuming you are with a group of devices, not a group of people using different devices.
You probably care less about why this tracking is happening to you and more about how you might stop it. First, I would add some browser extensions that will automatically disable most of the ad tracking (via pesky cookies) while you are browsing the web. Mind comes UBlock Origin and page Privacy Badger is . Use these two and you will be well protected.
Second, you can try turning on any Do Not Track settings that your browser might have. Sites and advertisers are not obligated to obey this, but it doesn’t hurt. You can also visit the Digital Advertising Alliance and the Network Advertising Initiative and opt out of many trackers. Again, I’m not sure how comprehensive this will be – I can’t promise that what you view will never be accidentally advertised to those in your home – but every nuance helps.
If you are determined not to reveal your secrets to others, you can always try to browse the web in incognito mode, as you have noticed. Or you can use a separate browser that has all cookies disabled (or delete them every time you close your browser), or a more privacy-focused browser like Firefox Focus or Epic Browser . You can also try logging into various services – Google , Facebook , etc. – and turn off any settings for interest-based or location-based personalized advertising. And don’t forget to reset your Advertising ID, an option hidden in the Ads section of the Google Android Settings menu or the Privacy section of the iOS Settings app.
Follow the same steps on your bride’s devices – with her permission, of course. Or you could just ask her to read this article. We hope that together you two will control ads and tracking as best you can, but as you’ve seen, there is a lot you need to do to deal with these annoyances.
Lifehacker Readers: Am I missing out on anything other than more extreme measures like using Tor just to browse the web or turning on the VPN whenever you use your smartphone, etc.? Let me know in the comments.