Targeted Ad Products May Be Worse Than You Think

Almost everything you do on your phone is tracked . This data is collected and used to sell targeted ads to you, which can be a good thing, but more often than not , these products are of lower quality than what you would otherwise buy . New research published this week by researchers at Carnegie Mellon and Virginia Tech shows how targeted advertising sells us more expensive products from lower-quality suppliers.

In the study, targeted ads were shown to 500 participants, where they were directed to more expensive products from lower quality vendors than they could find online through a general search. The average price increase was 10%, and products, according to Better Business Bureau ratings, were twice as likely to be sold by substandard suppliers.

Of course, not everything about personalized advertising is objectively bad. Seeing an ad for a local gig with your favorite band is better than any other mess you might see on ad banners and social media feeds. But even if it’s a product or service you’d like to buy, it’s worth taking the extra step of two instead of buying directly from an ad and risking a more expensive, lower quality product. Just do a quick search to find the same product or service to get the “real” price and maybe a more reputable supplier. And of course, consider using a VPN or privacy-focused browsers to avoid all this tracking before it starts.

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