Preventing targeted advertising based on public IP

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Paul1977

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#284488 25-Apr-2021 20:48

This didn't seem a good fit for any forum, but mods please move if it should be somewhere else.

At home we often notice that we get presented with ads based on what someone else in the house has been looking at online. For example I searched and ordered a new BBQ part today, and then my partner was presented with an ad in Facebook for the same product (product is niche enough that this couldn't have been random).

We don't share devices or accounts, the only commonality is being in the same household we'll have the same public IP.

This seems like a pretty primitive approach for targeted ads, and has privacy implications as well - what if I'd been searching for engagement rings? I would have thought the systems they use now would be smarter than just targeting a public IP and assuming it's the same user?

Is there any way to prevent this?

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#2697896 25-Apr-2021 20:56

Sorry dude. You just typed "engagement rings". There's no going back now.

Paul1977

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#2697897 25-Apr-2021 20:57

pih: Sorry dude. You just typed "engagement rings". There's no going back now.

Ha... so did you!

gehenna

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#2697898 25-Apr-2021 20:58

Use Pi-hole

pih

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#2697899 25-Apr-2021 20:59

Paul1977:
pih: Sorry dude. You just typed "engagement rings". There's no going back now.

Ha... so did you!

Yeah, that could be very bad for me too...

*Glances over at wife's phone to see which ads are on her screen*

yitz

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#2697906 25-Apr-2021 21:10

Are you friends with your partner on Facebook?

Perhaps they have been looking at it too or even in the past have had an association with the advertiser ?

Paul1977

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#2697910 25-Apr-2021 21:15

yitz:

Are you friends with your partner on Facebook?

Perhaps they have been looking at it too or even in the past have had an association with the advertiser ?

Am Facebook friends. She would never be searching for niche BBQ parts. It was a part that broke today while she was out, and I searched and ordered the replacement before she even got home. We've noticed this sort of thing many times.

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Oblivian

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#2697927 26-Apr-2021 00:40

There is a few over-rides introduced that they don't openly warn about.

One of them, is off-facebook activity. And a few articles popped up about turning it off to stop such things.

Unsure if it's doing the IP game in your case. But a common logged in browser acct would likely help it along

https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/how-to-stop-facebook-from-spying-on-your-internet-activity

Your activity on other websites and apps

Websites you visit or apps you use can send Facebook data directly by using our business tools (such as a pixel) to help us show you ads based on products or services that you've looked at, such as a shirt on a clothing retailer's website. Examples of this include:

Viewing one of their web pages

Downloading their mobile app

Adding a product to a shopping basket or making a purchase

richms

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#2697930 26-Apr-2021 01:22

The targetting to your friends thing is very common and doesnt take the same IP to trigger it. The reason I was told was that it starts discussions about the products and is very effective.

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cyril7

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#2697986 26-Apr-2021 07:38

+1 for Pi Hole, I now get real irritated when on a network without one.

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#2698001 26-Apr-2021 09:03

Oh this would be so much fun. That thing you really want but the mrs won’t let you buy. Just keep googling it so it’s always on her adverts :p

But seriously without blocking the adverts there’s not much you can do. Hell, it seems as if simply being in proximity to someone is enough for you to start getting their adverts. I get this at work a lot. Make contact with someone in person and suddenly I’m seeing adverts for their business. And the Facebook friend suggestions simply by talking about a person - that’s just creepy.

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#2698003 26-Apr-2021 09:09

This has been going on in our house for a couple of years. I'm constantly receiving ads for things my wife is interested in and she my adds. Its become a bit of challenge now to see who can fill up the other's targeted ads with the most out there items.

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robjg63

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#2698010 26-Apr-2021 09:42

Paul1977:

yitz:

Are you friends with your partner on Facebook?

Perhaps they have been looking at it too or even in the past have had an association with the advertiser ?

Am Facebook friends. She would never be searching for niche BBQ parts. It was a part that broke today while she was out, and I searched and ordered the replacement before she even got home. We've noticed this sort of thing many times.

It may or may not be anything to do with facebook, but I do not use facebook.

I have a windows PC and and android tab, my wife has an ipad.

We dont share email accounts or google accounts etc.

If I query something, my wife often starts seeing pop up ads for what I have been searching for.

It's definitely something based on our IP address as far as I can see.

EDIT: have recently started using the 'Brave' browser - It is supposed to stop that sort of tracking etc. Time will tell if it works or not.

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mattwnz

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#2698157 26-Apr-2021 14:29

I was verbally asked a question about what those black fan things are on wood burners. This was in earshot of my android phone. I knew what it was and didn't need to look it up. The next thing I have been getting adverts for them on instagram / facebook. It is really creepy how that happened, as it can't be a coincidence, as it is such a specific type of product. It is possible that someone else on my IP typed in the question on an ipad, but then it would be basing it the search on the IP. But I know of other people who say they have been discussing something, and they later see advertising for what they were discussing.

Oblivian

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#2698160 26-Apr-2021 14:53

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-49585682

I take it noone uses GZ outside a nz IP.

The first thing I get bombarded with when going via singapore at a work Proxy is beauty, dining and other tips that the help desk have been trolling in their spare time on the same range.

If google/facebook/random site have advertising interaction cookies. You'll get associated ads. Even by means of drive-by

With bbqs, you would likely only need to search for utensils, gas, or Anything associated and if the product you we're shown has a high rate of hits from others or rated push value it'll get out there.

You can always go 'why am I seeing this"

Also seems to come in phases. Look at Facebook settings for advertising interest and check out all the random crap you'll have associated with. Just from a like, click, share, play video. Then every few weeks need to report nord, symantec, adobe those have narrowed down to 'your interests' despite being targeted to 'anyone in NZ over 18'

gbwelly

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#2698164 26-Apr-2021 15:10

I'm sure I'll sound like one of those "I don't own a TV" type people, but I'm amazed Geekzoners are seeing adverts? I kinda just assumed everyone would be running uBlock Origin for their computers and a Pi-hole for everything else.

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