'Ad Choices' allows you to choose the advertising you see online
Photographer: WEWS
Posted: 05/21/2012
CLEVELAND - Online ads are not going away, but there is a new feature that allows you to control what you see. Many ads are targeted toward your browsing habits.
If you shop for shoes, or electronics you'll likely see an ad for these products after you're done searching. Cookies enable this to happen, but there are now ways to limit ads that track your behavior.
"I don't want anyone to send me stuff that I didn't want," Amyaz Moledina said.
Moledina tries to block as many ads as possible, that's getting easier through a program called "Ad Choices." Look for a blue triangle next to the ad. That's an indication the advertiser participates in the Ad Choices program.
"It gives you the ability to select what types of ads you want to see, targeted to your specific needs," said Perry Kahai, Ph.D, owner of NEO IT & Security .
Kahai said when you click on the triangle, a screen pops up that allows you to choose which companies display ads in your browser.
"What I'm going to do is I'm going to click select all to opt out of everything," Kahai said.
Opting out does not mean all the ads will stop. You'll just stop seeing ads from the companies you choose. And your browsing data won't be used to target ads to you.
You can also browse privately to prevent online tracking and sharing of your information. Browsers offer a "private" or "incognito" mode which means cookies won't be placed on your computer, and your browsing habits won't result in ads targeted to you.
Click below for instructions to browse privately in the following browsers:
Private browsing is a good idea to protect your personal information as well. In essence, it eliminates your digital footprint .
Copyright 2012 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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