Kim Komando: how to beat Google's personalized ads | The columnist Kim Kommando



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Google has created its own universe. If you want, you can only use Google products and live a successful digital life. You can buy a Chromebook, use Gmail and G Suite, publish your videos on YouTube, and save all the latest data on Google Drive.

You can take all your appointments in Google Calendar, download all your media from Google Play, and tell the world about your incredible Google Blogger experience. And of course, Google Search must answer your questions.

When you convert your life to Google, you sign a contract with Faustian: Google responds to all your whims, but you also send Google a huge amount of your personal information. You put your correspondence, your private files and, if you use Google Maps on your Android phone, even your physical movements.

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Above all, Google ads make people nervous. Custom ads follow you on the Internet, giving you images and links that reflect your recent activities and research. Nowhere else does Google make its intimate knowledge so blatant and the effect can be disturbing.

Fortunately, you have a lot of control over these ads, in part because Google has responded positively to customer feedback. If you want the most sophisticated data society in the world to stop harming your privacy, here are some steps to take.

Here's why Google knows as much about you. Google has a surprising ability to identify your interests. The technology giant is a little mysterious when it comes to telling you how he determines the topics that interest you.

According to Google: "Ads are based on personal information that you have added to your Google Account, data from Google's partner advertisers, and Google's estimate of your interests. . "

In short, you say a lot to Google. Whenever you search for something, every time you click on a YouTube video and book a flight ticket via Google Travel, the company automatically analyzes that data. As soon as you sign in to your account, Google gathers new data, which helps to paint a picture of your digital and mainstream existence.

The good news, though, is that Google has become increasingly transparent about tracking your interests. You can even identify topics that you think are relevant to Google, and then edit those interests to display ads that more accurately reflect your personality and lifestyle.

Conversely, you can tell Google to no longer tailor ads to your interests. You can not completely disable ads, but you can prevent Google from targeting you for the brands and products that you will like the algorithm.

Here's how to tailor Google ads to your interests. This may seem obvious, but you must first sign in to your Google Account. Start by going to Google.com and log in.

Click on the menu bar, which is a box with three horizontal dots and three vertical dots in the upper right corner of your screen. Then click Account. Scroll down to the area that says Personal Info and Privacy. Tap or click Ad Settings> Manage Ad Settings.

Ad customization is enabled. Scroll down to see your centers of interest. Those who, according to the Google ads, interest you.

This is where you can manipulate ads to appeal to your current tastes. You can enable or disable them by clicking on each topic. For example, you can see that one of your interests is American football; If you are not interested in this topic or others, click on it and click Disable.

Here's how to disable Google's custom ads. If you still worry that Google knows too much about you, you can opt out of Google's ad targeting. Scroll up the screen until ad customization is enabled.

Slide the screen to Off. Then click Disable.

Do not forget that you do not disable the ads. You will still see advertisements on Google sites, including Gmail, YouTube and other Google-owned sites. They will simply not be targeted on your private information.

Listen to Kim Komando's radio show from 1 pm to 4 pm Sundays on KRMG am740 or fm102.3. Read his columns or get his newsletters at komando.com.

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