Was noodling around on the site that lets you see Google’s profile on you for targeted ads.
At the page, you can see what they think your interests are for the Google account you’re logged in with. Under Customize Ads, there’s a Sensitive Topics page.
There you can request to have them show fewer ads regarding sensitive topics like alcohol, gambling, weight loss, etc…
I guess it’s better they don’t assume. But I’ve looked up enough recovery and AA stuff, you’d think by now they’d just know I’m not interested in alcohol.
Although it has been a while since I’ve gotten booze ads…
I never get alcohol ads that I can think of.
I turn off any and all personal add customisation, which in turn vastly limits what Google tracks and uses to target ads to me and make my internet experience “better”.
Just trying to be invisible is certainly another way to go. Of course then you get a scatter shot of random stuff, for better or worse. They make opting out pretty hard for people in the Android world. “Want all our magical tools? We need to know you…”
There’s other interesting “privacy” settings and stuff in there too.
I try to not pay attention to ads anyway.
In general I don’t think they would ever target me with anything I genuinely wanted that I didn’t already know about. For the rest of it, it’s just cheap shit advertising for the ever increasing numbers of shitty products trying to get in, get out fast with a few dollars of internet money in their pocket.
Fuck 'em.
Rather see random junk that may amuse me.
Maybe I really do need those penis enlargement pills, or super-absorbent super-thin maxi-pads that won’t show in tight pants…
