Despite Google's best efforts to convince users that their privacy is protected, some people want more control over the advertisements that appear when using Google products. Although Google promises that any ads generated are family friendly, some parents do not want their children's online behavior to be connected to ads at all. Targeted advertising is not a mandatory part of the Internet experience; it is easy to change the ads that are generated and to remove cookies that track search behaviors.
Changing Google Ad Preferences
Some people like advertising on Google because it helps them find sites, services, and products that they would not have discovered otherwise. Google's sponsored ads helps keep products like Gmail free and generates revenue for Google and the websites participating in the Google Adsense program.
People who want to change their preferences to have more localized ads or find ads that fit their interests more specifically can change their preferences in the Google Ad Preferences Manager. Add and remove categories by clicking the available options under "Your Interests." These preferences are saved for each browser; people who use multiple browsers (such as Firefox and Internet Explorer) will have to set up preferences in each browser.
According to their policy, Google Adwords are used with discretion. Google's Privacy Center says,"We avoid showing ads reflecting sensitive or inappropriate content." For some people that reassurance is not enough, and they want to remove behavioral advertising completely. Google offers opt-out options for different browsers from the Ad Preferences Manager.
Removing Targeted Behavior-Based Ads
Opting-out of targeted ads will not automatically remove all ads; it just removes the ads that are based on user behaviors. Adwords is not the only program that uses behavior-based ads, so rather than just use Google's advertising removal ad-on, take advantage of the opt-out options from the Network Advertising Initiative.
Google, like most reputable companies using targeted advertisements, is a member of the NAI. To remove ads, go to the NAI Advertising Opt-Out page. The pages identifies which cookies are already stored on the computer, and gives users the choice to opt-out of each online advertising program. After selecting which programs to include or exclude, review the summary of the programs and submit the page. NAI standards require that companies respect the opt-out decision for five years.
Opting-out of targeted ads does not remove Google ads from browsers; it removes the cookies that track behaviors in browsers to generate ads. It could be that the irrelevant ads are more annoying than the original targeted ads, in which case users can opt-in to targeted ads in Google's Ad Preferences Manager. One of the tenets of Google's Corporate Philosophy is, "You can make money without being evil."
Allowing users to choose to no participate in targeted ads is one way that Google seems to be providing opportunities for businesses to find customers without making end-users feel uncomfortable with ads by Google.
Alex Sharp - Alex Sharp is a teacher who has been keeping Suite101 readers up to date with the latest in audio- and e-book gadgetry since 2008.
