From what you search on the web to items you buy in stores, Google tracks every step you take online. The Google algorithm then uses this data to display relevant ads based on the information collected about your choices.
Usually, the ads are relevant to you and can actually help you in finding the right service, product, or information. However, there are times when they make you feel insecure.
If you're sick of seeing personalized Google Ads based on your browsing history, you can disable them. In this article, we'll take a look at how.
How to Disable Google's Personalized Ads
To disable Google's personalized ads, follow the steps below:
- Go to your Google Account page.
- Go to the Data and privacy in the left-sidebar.
- In the Ad settings, click on Ad personalisation.
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Under Ad personalisation, turn off the toggle next to Ad personalisation is On.
When you turn off the toggle, you'll see the following pop-up, which warns what you stand to lose by turning off the feature, including losing the option to increase advertising relevance. If you're fine with losing those features, click Turn off.
Google will confirm that the personalization settings has been turned off, but it may take a while to take effect.
Instead of disabling Google's personalized ads, you can also turn off advertisements related to specific categories on the Ad Settings page.
Browse all categories, click on the categories you don't want to see ads in, and click Turn off. Thus, you can tailor the ads you want to see on Google and its other services.
Turn Off Google's Personalized Ads
Following the above steps will disable ad personalisation, but that won't stop showing you ads. The ads would still be based on a few general factors tracked from your activity. Thus, don't assume that Google will no longer track you.
Have you ever had an advertisement keep reappearing on every website you visit? This is ad retargeting which annoys you continuously. If you're tired of retargeted ads, there are also ways to stop them.