Google's "profiling" is really creepy

[pmv]

I now view suggestions or recommendations by FB or YT as representing what the site thinks of me. And then I ponder where it got that particular idea. Now and then I'll roll my eyes or get offended.

Yeah, that's the thing, really, like all stalking it makes one a bit paranoid, or at least constantly wondering what's going on here. What it _doesn't_ do, ever, is persuade me to click on an ad.

I was thinking, if it were, say, an ad for an appealing-looking food item that I could buy at my local supermarket, it could, concievably, get me to seek it out on my next grocery shop. Or a reminder that some band I already like has a new album out might inspire me to go to some site I already trust and buy it.

But there's no way I'm going to click an ad just because it arbitrarily tells me they know how old I am or where my phone exchange is or because it's selling something they, entirely-incorrectly, think somehow relates to a site I recently visited. It just doesn't work, so they ought to stop doing it.

 

[MtnMan]

Yeah, but as I say, I keep having to turn ad-block back off again, usually it's because some site demands I do so to let me see it. Last time it was that Firefox got corrupted somehow and had to be reinstalled and I didn't reinstall ad-block, then started noticing all those creepy "personalised" ads ("people living in [area the telephone exchange I'm routed through, presumably] are all buying [product I don't care about]'

There's also the tediousness of having to make sure I'm signed out of Gmail before I use any other site. These corporations are all stalkers, basically. If an actual identifiable human behaved as they do they'd be socially-shunned, if not arrested.

You don't have to keep turning if off/on. When you install it on Firefox (probably similar on other browsers), don't set it to run on "private window". When you hit one of those that sites that balks at your ad blocker, simply right-click on the link and open in a private window. As a plus, when you close that window, any cookies it might have left behind are deleted.

I actually have two layers of ad blocking. AdBlock in the browser, along with not allowing popup windows, and Google Safe Browsing running on my router, configured to block ads, of specific devices. End result, I get virtually zero ads, even on phones and tablets. I have some games on my phone that are ad free when I'm on my Wi-Fi, but virtually unplayable on 4G due to the forced videos that run for up to 30 seconds trying to sell another game.

 

[balloonshark]

I think they also track your browser's profile. Like what browser version you're using, add-ons, cookie settings, etc. Add in your IP addy and they can target you pretty easily. They make user-agent add-ons that can change what your browser reports to sites. You could be using firefox on PC but the add-on tells the site you're using internet explorer or a mobile browser.

For example: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/user-agent-string-switcher/

You can also use the official firefox multi-account containers add-on to isolate what happens in one tab from other tabs. This helps a lot with tracking.

Firefox Multi-Account Containers â Get this Extension for ð¦ Firefox (en-US)

Download Firefox Multi-Account Containers for Firefox. Firefox Multi-Account Containers lets you keep parts of your online life separated into color-coded tabs. Cookies are separated by container, allowing you to use the web with multiple accounts and integrate Mozilla VPN for an extra layer of...

addons.mozilla.org

They also make a facebook version of that add-on.

Facebook Container â Get this Extension for ð¦ Firefox (en-US)

Download Facebook Container for Firefox. Prevent Facebook from tracking you around the web. The Facebook Container extension for Firefox helps you take control and isolate your web activity from Facebook.

addons.mozilla.org

 

[Captante]

Yeah... me too.

Can't stop the signal.....