Instagram ad targeting cuddlers?

sjb1973

Every time I open Instagram recently, I'm seeing ads for snuggle pillows...

How do they know about my penchant for cuddling???!
Is anyone else seeing them?

This is them. I'm sure other brands are available.

(Btw, they look awesome. And yes, I might buy one for those spells when I don't have a cuddle buddy.. )

AceCuddlerMike

I think I'd rather have her than an animal

https://www.theinteriorgallery.com/pd-sitting-female-pirate-on-pirate-bench.cfm

ReltvlyCanshes

@Fairbutfirm is she made of wood? Or plastic? Either way she doesn’t look comfortable.

AceCuddlerMike

LOL I was kidding. I mean, if someone would model something plushy after her then yeah!!

DonLonG

I work for Geeks Squad and get this question sometimes. Whenever you browse the internet, shop online, active on social media, or lots more all that stuff is being tracked by your cookies and IP address.

Websites make money from advertisers when people click on their ads. 20 years ago it was just randomized, and I can't recall the specific stats, but it was like a 4% click rate. To get more clicks, all they knew how to do was just show more ads.

They figured out that if the ads were more relevant for the user, then they would be more likely to click on it. That's when someone got the idea for targeted ads. They install trackers on websites, in search requests, even in your own computer with malware and cookies. Social media can even scan your pictures for content. For example, if you have outdoor pictures, or holding a gun, when you log into that profile you'll see hunting and camping advertisements.

It's not all just in your computer either, it is tracked online by your IP address. I have a dedicated separate computer I never use. Its sole purpose is for when I have guests that want the internet or print something out. My dad will come to visit and use that computer. An hour later when he leaves I will grab my Ipad to check my facebook account and I will see ads for DeWalt power tools and Dodge cars. After my sister visits, I will log on my main computer that no one else uses, and start seeing advertisements from Lane Bryant and Macy's. Internet activity on one device in your home, will affect advertisements to all devices.

Facebook is the second largest tracker network that collects and shares information for advertising. Facebook also owns Instagram. These aren't illegal because they don't technically harm your computer, but if you have hundreds or thousands of malware installed, it will significantly slow your computer if you don't clear them. You can do that by getting a Free version of Malwarebytes.

You can also go to the settings of your facebook and turn off Ad Targetting. They'll still track you, but they'll stop using that information on you while you are on their site, including Instagram. Unfortunately like 25% of websites use Facebook advertisements and their tracking network, so you'll still be affected elsewhere.

Some browsers like Chrome and firefox have an incognito mode that will disable cookies and everything else that can track your movements. In addition, you can also install addons to block almost all advertisements from showing on your screen. My favorites free one is Ad Block

AceCuddlerMike

I'm experimenting with Opera browser, so I have that and the MS Edge that came with win10. So Opera has an ad blocker built in and now I'd say approximately 70% of news links I click on (usa today, Baltimore sun are two that come to mind) say something like "we detect an ad blocker" and this huge pop up that blocks the new article, so until someone comes up with a stealth ad blocker, it's not worth using them. Is there an ad blocker they can't detect???

UKGuy

I run SuperAntiSpyware every night before shutting off my computer. It usually finds from 100-250 ad tracking files on my PC. I have my browser's Ad blocker permanently turned on. Some sites won't let me enter because of that (like Twitter) but l never turn it off. You can whitelist individual sites if you need to.

DonLonG

Companies only make money from advertisements if you see and click on them. The big companies that allow free services in exchange for you viewing ads can tell when they are being blocked and write code to prevent the free service until you rectify it. If you want to keep using their service, then you need to add their site to your blockers whitelist. Whitelist tells the blocker that the site is ok, and to not block them.

Sometimes the site doesn't want you to lose the page you are on to show you something else, even if it's not ad-related. They may have a window pop up to show you more information that you can easily close to get back to the main article. Adblocker may not know what's in this pop-up, and they just block them all. You need to add those sites to your whitelist to allow the pop-ups to work.