Recently, the side ads on Facebook are for specific things that I’ve searched for on other websites. For example, I looked up cameras on Amazon and then Facebook started showing an ad for Amazon with the exact camera I was looking at. The same thing happens when I look up items on HomeDepot and other websites. Is there a way to prevent Facebook from showing ads for things I was looking up?
First of all, if you share your computer… do not visit any adult stores. Tee hee. Also, install Ad-Block plus. It helps a lot!
Turn off cookies, or clear out your cookies after shopping.
I noticed this very markedly recently.
At the cat shelter where I was volunteering, they recently put a wall unit in one colony room that had a grid on the wall, and then baskets and shelves that fit into the grid, making a climbing/playing/napping area for the cats.
I wanted to know what that kind of thing was and how much it cost, etc, so I looked it up online, found a site selling something very similar or the same, and browsed around the website for a while.
For the next couple weeks, I constantly had ads for those grid shelf/utility units showing up on a wide variety of other unrelated websites I was visiting. It was amusing, but also kind of creepy.
Facebook is not worth using without this add-on:
It will fix your ad problem, among many others.
Also, don’t forget Adblock Plus! It fixes the whole internet so that it is usable. I’m not sure how people are able to use the web without it, seriously. I’d probably have to go live in the woods like the Unabomber without these two pieces of software.
The solution is obvious–disengage from Facebook.
If you always log into Facebook in an Incognito (Chrome), inPrivate (IE), or Private (Firefox) window/tab, it won’t know your search history.
Or stop looking at the adverts. This may seem facetious (because it is, really), but advertising keeps the Internet going. Facebook provides a social media experience for you in exchange for targetted marketing. Showing you adverts for stuff you’ve got a known interest in is a giant leap forward for advertisers.
Besides AdBlock Plus, I’d also recommend NoScript. AdBlock prevents you from seeing ads, but doesn’t necessarily prevent the tracking cookies. NoScript stops most tracking sites, like google-analytics or quantserve.
Running both of those while in “incognito” or “private” mode should stop everything. Note that these modes by themselves won’t stop tracking within a single browser session; that’s why you need NoScript as well.
Then let everyone else pay for it. One less person (me) isn’t going to make a dent in their revenue.
It’s not that I mind the ads. I just don’t want the ads to be for specific things I’ve searched for. The reason I asked is because I was doing some Christmas shopping for family members. Now whenever I’m on my facebook page, all those gift ideas are right there on the page. If they walk by, they’ll know what I’m getting for them. It’s been several days now and I’ll still seeing ads for the exact same items. This is even after clearing cookies and the browser cache.
Blocking the ads entirely would be an option, but I was hoping more for a way to prevent the cookie sharing which allows facebook to show ads specific to my browsing history.
Use private browsing with NoScript, but without AdBlock. You’ll get ads, but not targeted to you. Although, depending on how much info Facebook shares with the ad servers, it may be too late, since as soon as you log onto FB you’ve told them who you are.
I’m ok with non pop up advertising for the reason you mentioned above. But this time of year is an exception. If a family member jumps on my computer they’ll notice ads for items I’ve been looking at as Christmas gifts. I’d rather block those ads to save some semblance of surprise.