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Targeted adverts

StoneHappyMonday

StoneHappyMonday

Bluelighter
Joined
May 10, 2001
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18,084
Or...how far are google going in my computer?

Ok, so we're all getting used to these by now I guess. Your other half looks at a Dyson for two seconds and next time you visit one of your favourite websites there's adverts for Dyson all over the page. But is this one step further?

This week I've been sorting out travel insurance (got it thanks, fuck off now Insure and Go). Now, not only am I getting travel insurance adverts all over cricinfo, they're doing so over a background picture that looks pretty much stolen from my picassa

Last time I went travelling, one of the most amazing places I ended up was at a place called something like Los Lajas Sanctuary, Ipiales, Colombia. It's a truly stunning piece of architecture, a church built into rock in an incredibly deep valley, but I've never seen it anywhere else. I.E it's not that famous outside South America. So why are Insure and Go using it in my directly targeted adverts? Is it a stolen image from my computer, or just an incredible coincidence?

Is it yet another by-product of ICloud managing all my pics onto all my, oo-er, devices?

Coz it's a bit bleedin' much if it's more than coincidence. What next, adverts for cialis over the background of my home made porn?

Answers on a postcard. No, answers here please.
 
Presumably you did Google research of the place before you went? I'd bet it's something like that.. might be worth adding a browser extension such as DoNotTrackMe/etc.
 
Just like using a Nectar card or signing up for a web service and not ticking / unticking the right boxes to a large extent your privacy is in your hands.

Using Google comes with strings attached, if your really bothered don't, there are many ways to increase your privacy this search engine is a start

https://duckduckgo.com/
 
I'm kinda getting more bothered about google, but I'd come to a weak compromise in my head regarding the targeted ads. Because like Ponch says, I do use Adblock on the PC and can willingly live that part of my life in ignorance pretending it doesn't happen.

But is this a stage further? Any research I did on the Ipiales church was six years ago. I find it hard to believe this has come out of google searches. That picture though, and tens of similar ones, are all over my picassa portfolio. And that's a bit much if they're looking at my private pics. Are they?
 
From the Google website:

Google’s ad products may receive or infer information about your location from a variety of sources. For example, we may use the IP address to identify your general location; we may receive precise location from your mobile device; we may infer your location from your search queries; and websites or apps that you use may send information about your location to us. Google uses location information in its ads products to improve the relevance of the ads you see, to measure ad performance and to report anonymous statistics to advertisers.
Click to expand...

Do your pictures have geotagging data in them? Only thing I can come up with.
 
Do all digital pics naturally have geo-tagging data in them? Then, yes, probably.

I just think it looks like they've read my picassa album, or my pictures folder...or my travelblog. Of all the images they could have used, that, in many ways, is the most strikingly obvious.

Am currently filling milk bottles with petrol and soaked rags...
 
Only photos taken on smartphones or pretty high end DSLR cameras.

Google own picasa so they definitely have access to your photos on there. The reverse image search technology they have now is pretty mad. Could easily work out where you have been from that.
 
StoneHappyMonday said:
Do all digital pics naturally have geo-tagging data in them? Then, yes, probably.

I just think it looks like they've read my picassa album, or my pictures folder...or my travelblog. Of all the images they could have used, that, in many ways, is the most strikingly obvious.

Am currently filling milk bottles with petrol and soaked rags...
Click to expand...

Don't know about geo tagging but have you seen what that tineye application can do..scary stalker stuff =D
 
fuck google - use startpage.com (or duckduckgo) - use google without it using you (i don't use phones/tablets)

(and adblocker and donottrackme)
 
Cheers, just added "donttrackme" to chrome, shoulda done that ages ago.. been using adblock for a long time tho.. listening to music through youtube with adverts gets on my tits

Would browsing everything through TOR be a good idea?
 
Let me try that again

Sounds like...

NSFW:
1573355_the-illuminati_jpeg890495712403ec5fef85b53b0a65a1ab
 
Adverts are targeted in more ways than most people would ever imagine.

If you see an electronic advert board in a city then chances are if it is a moddern one it is scanning for all the smartphones in the local area, compiling a database of information about all the people carrying the phones using info you give away in your google account etc on the phone and then displaying an advert that best fits the demographic of people in the area at the time.

1984 my friends
 
When youre in gmail, check out the apps section at the top. Use the link to go to your google dashboard

In the dashboard they list every bit of data they keep on you. including browsing histories, searches, and all the info and privacy settings for any google product youve subscribed to

It's mindboggling how much everything is intertwined.

You can delete all your held data from there, and alter permissions for future capturing of data at the same time.

It'll have any of google+, playstore relationships to any devices youve ever logged into get apps from ... theres fucktons of shit. All your gmail contacts, lists of chat logs .. the works

Keep it as clear possible and with as few permssions as possible.

Also, if youre using google to search instead of Duck, like Allein mentioned, then log out of your google (gmail) account first ... because those searches will be linked to your email.

If you cant find the security dashboard, I'll screenshot and post one up later
 
StoneHappyMonday said:
Do all digital pics naturally have geo-tagging data in them? Then, yes, probably.

I just think it looks like they've read my picassa album, or my pictures folder...or my travelblog. Of all the images they could have used, that, in many ways, is the most strikingly obvious.

Am currently filling milk bottles with petrol and soaked rags...
Click to expand...
ALWAYS remove your geotagging and other personal data from pics before posting them. Irfanview is ace for pic browsing and removing EXIF data
 
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