Tag: AdChoices

As long as your phone is on, it’s sharing data. This happens whether you have an iPhone or Android, but one company is tracking much more than the other. Tap or click here to see if Apple or Google collects more data.

Advertisers are notorious for watching what you do and where you go online. That’s valuable and very profitable information. Here’s one way to stop some of the spying.

The bad kind of cookies

Think of cookies as the trail you leave behind when online. A first-party cookie is created and stored in your browser when you visit a website. It keeps things like your login info and shopping cart, so you don’t have to fill them in again each time. First-party cookies also preserve options and settings.

That’s useful, but cookies can be invasive, too. Companies use them to track where you go and what you do online. They’ll even do it on a website other than the one you’re visiting. Advertisers love cookies because they help customize the ads you see. If the ads appeal to you, you’re more likely to click them, which yields a higher ROI.

Pro tip: You can block third-party cookies and other invasive tools through your browser. The level of protection varies, but it’s worth the time to change your default settings. Tap or click here for tips on changing your privacy settings in some of the most popular browsers.

Blocking third-party cookies and tracking is one thing, but how about not being subjected to tracking methods to begin with? That’s where AdChoices and WebChoices come in.

Banish tracking cookies from your browser

AdChoices is a program from the Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA), a group of advertising and marketing companies that self-regulate to offer you choices for targeted advertising. Why would they self-regulate? So, no one else steps in to do it, of course.

Try it out next time you see an ad online. Look for the small AdChoices icon. It looks like a blue triangle with a lowercase “i” in the middle.

Click that to get information about the ad, change its settings and block it. Not all advertisers participate in the program, but you’ll know it when you see the symbol.

Within AdChoices is a tool called WebChoices. You can use this tool to opt out of many companies in one step. As with AdChoices, it only works for companies that participate in the program.

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