10 ms·

See what Google knows about you

224 points by nhoss2 15y ago

spydum 15y ago
Not sure if this is cool, or creepy. Nice that you can opt-out right there though.
- koopajah 15y ago
  I was wondering this morning why I had a facebook ad about a music band that I started listening a few weeks ago ONLY at work and ONLY on grooveshark. The band is not that famous to appear randomly in my facebook account so I wonder if this can be linked! You can also find : http://www.networkadvertising.org/managing/opt_out.asp http://www.networkadvertising.org/managing/opt_out.asp
  - jamesteow 15y ago
    Well if you check Facebook at work and go to Grooveshark, they can track you. I think they might even be able to gather some info if you logged out of Facebook but I'm only partially sure of that.
- fuzzix 15y ago
  They appear to have nothing on me... Only feature on the page is the Opt Out button. Have I missed something? No idea why they'd have nothing, I am signed in on Google services all the time.
  - budu3 15y ago
    Are you worried that Google knows nothing about you? :)
    - bruceboughton 15y ago
      If Google doesn't know about you, do you really exist?
deleted 15y ago
[deleted]
deleted 15y ago
[deleted]
Shenglong 15y ago
This is pretty cool, but it thinks I've quite a bit older than I am. :) I don't think there's anything wrong with targeted ads - I for one am not opting out!
- Roboprog 15y ago
  Funny, they erred on my age the other way. Did it also peg you as "25 - 34"? I wonder if this is some sort of default. Otherwise, it seems to have accurately tracked what I view in Chrome on this particular computer / boot partition at home. Would not expect it to track stuff at work or when booting to Windows to watch Netflix.
  - Shenglong 15y ago
    Yes it did. I don't know if that's default, or if it's because most of my relevant content surrounds tech, financials, and intellectual property though. I'll check Chrome when I get home - it might give a better view of who I am.
ScottWhigham 15y ago
I use Noscript and have marked doubleclick as "Untrusted". It just shows "You cannot view or edit interests when you do not have an 'id' cookie. Opt-in to get a cookie."
- koopajah 15y ago
  Yeah, the point is to have a specific cookie, in which it is written you do not want to be tracked.
nvictor 15y ago
"Computers & Electronics - Programming - Java" Blasphemy! Python for ever!
hsmyers 15y ago
I have no problem with targeted ads excepting one. Many of the categories have no product! Lots of software related thingys, but nothing I can look at :( Many of the magazines that I still subscribe to at least have adds that allow me to fantasize about what I could do if I had but the funds...
gst 15y ago
"Your categories: You have opted out of Google's interest-based advertising. No interest categories are associated with your browser." To opt-out just go here: http://www.google.com/ads/preferences/html/intl/en/plugin/ http://www.google.com/ads/preferences/html/intl/en/plugin/
- danielharan 15y ago
  I'm curious. Why do you want ads shown to you NOT be targeted? Unless you're using adblock, you should be seeing a whole bunch of crappy ads for fat-loss solutions, IQ tests, "Which way is this mannequin turning?", etc... (Disclaimer: I co-founded a company now helping companies target ads. People opting out won't harm me economically, but I'm really trying to understand people's objections).
  - tseabrooks 15y ago
    As a consumer I'm with you. If google is going to be showing me Ad's anyway... I'd rather they target them for me. It's not like opting out means they don't have giant warehouses of data on me or that they won't show me any ads. I guess I don't see what the potential up-sides are to opting out.
    - Andrew_Quentin 15y ago
      Being introduced to new things you did not know existed.
  - bbarthel 15y ago
    Privacy - Normally my interests are more technology-oriented, so I would expect my ads to target computers and technology. However, every year around the holidays and my wife's birthday my browsing takes a more practical turn. If she were to hop on my laptop and notice that all my ads are now for jewelry, it doesn't take a genius to put 2+2 together, and the surprise is ruined. And this is just a benign example of how targeted ads might "leak" undesired information to third parties (imagine some of the more embarrassing things that might be targeted). Quality - My experience with targeted ads usually involves them lagging behind my purchase or interest. So if I set out to buy a new saw, by the time I start getting ads related to new saws, I have already purchased it. Everybody loses (Advertisers waste money targeting a purchase I already made, and I keep seeing ads for a product I don't need anymore). Both of these scenarios occurred recently, and I don't really know a good solution to the problem.
hackermom 15y ago
My Glimmerblocker proxy tells me that Google's info about me can be summed up in a 1 by 1 pixel transparent image. This makes me happy.
antonioe 15y ago
Hopefully this will reduce the remarketing ads I keep seeing(doubtful). I click 1 link on HN and then usually it's a YC company fills up all the ad units on every page. Ahh at least it's better then the get rich quick stuff or the 1-Secret Diet Trick ads on Facebook.
epaga 15y ago
Google is really leading the pack when it comes to their transparency regarding user data. This plus the Google Dashboard means basically anything Google knows about me is shown at one glance and I can opt out at the click of a button. They need to link to these preferences from the Dashboard (but I bet they're scared out of their minds that everyone will opt out...)
vapour 15y ago
very cool I too have the default appearing 25-34 age but my interests are spot on.
mcormier 15y ago
It's transparent but definitely not user friendly. When you opt out it uses a cookie so if your cookies get deleted you need to opt out again. Also, since opting out uses a cookie you must opt out on every browser on every machine you use. Definitely not convenient.
- danielharan 15y ago
  It's buried at the bottom of the page, but they link to the "Keep My Opt-Outs plugin". Just curious: are you opting out? Why?
- extension 15y ago
  How else could it be done?
  - mcormier 15y ago
    On the server side. Associated with your account.
    - jonknee 15y ago
      With what account? Google serves on a ton of third party sites (and not just through AdSense, DoubleClick is huge). And that would require you to sign in to Google before you are opted-out, regardless if you were using Google or not. I use an plugin provided by Google to do the same thing, no worries about a cookie disappearing. http://www.google.com/ads/preferences/html/intl/en/plugin/ http://www.google.com/ads/preferences/html/intl/en/plugin/
  - rachelbythebay 15y ago
    You'd need some kind of browser extension (aha!) to purposely keep that placeholder cookie set. Then you've just traded one problem for another. Now, if the browser came with it, and defaulted to on, then we'd really have something to talk about.
  - beaumartinez 15y ago
    An HTTP header.
gulbrandr 15y ago
hmm it does not work for me: http://i.imgur.com/SDvIl.png http://i.imgur.com/SDvIl.png And my browser's cookies are not disabled.
- danielharan 15y ago
  Do you have AdBlock installed?
  - gulbrandr 15y ago
    yes. Do you think it is because of adblock?
- sjs 15y ago
  Same here. I'm already using https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/gbiekjoijknlhijdjbaadobpkdhmoebb https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/gbiekjoijknlhijdjb...
- glenstein 15y ago
  Does this mean google has nothing on you (and me, I'm getting this message too), or that we just aren't seeing what google has on us?
alexholehouse 15y ago
On my original look at this, Google had one of my interests as hockey. I've never shown any interest in the sport, nor have any of my friends, so I was confused. Upon reloading the page, "Hockey" was gone, although I had taken a screenshot before, and noticed a number of other preference had been removed, leaving a much better fit of my activities. Prior to my refresh I had video streamining, photo sharing, and online video as my "interests" despite the fact I don't tend to use my computer for these kinds of things. These are obviously things I might be interested in (25-34 male demograph), but am not particularly. I wonder why they would appear and disappear like this? How often are the preferences updated (hourly? daily? monthly?)
- danielharan 15y ago
  Very strange. Do you share your computer with others? The change is probably due to caching. If your computer isn't shared, I'd blame Google's classification which isn't always very accurate. Best example: a page of photos of pole dancers was classified as "winter sports" because the secondary navigation linked to relevant content...
  - alexholehouse 15y ago
    Indeed - no, I'm the sole user of the computer, it just seems odd that so many disappeared, I'd almost not believe it if I hadn't taken a screenshot! Considering Google's expertise with data you'd think they'd have enough NLP know-how to avoid errors like the one you describe - interesting though.
    - danielharan 15y ago
      Probably a lack of motivation rather than ability. Also, their current algo is probably "good enough" for most cases.
      - alexholehouse 15y ago
        Yeah - I guess when "good enough" gets you around $25 billion in revenue, it's probably good enough for now...
girl25haXe 15y ago
Me: Male from 35 to 44, no other information: That's not correct, I am a girl of 25.
- ry0ohki 15y ago
  I don't see any demographic information on that preferences page when I click the link?
- divtxt 15y ago
  Me: Male, 65+ I'm in my late 30s. They have my interests as Business News & Finance (correct), but no Tech (incorrect), so perhaps the ad system is guessing age & gender from interests?
- katieben 15y ago
  I'm female, 26, and it didn't even try to guess. Hehe maybe the programming interests throw it off. (:
lallysingh 15y ago
This is my full list, and none of it is surprising. I'm just glad they don't assume I'm older :-) Arts & Entertainment - Movies - Science Fiction & Fantasy Films Computers & Electronics Computers & Electronics - Hardware - ... - Chips & Processors Computers & Electronics - Hardware - ... - Sound & Video Cards Computers & Electronics - Hardware - Laptops Computers & Electronics - Programming Computers & Electronics - Software - Operating Systems - Linux & Unix Internet & Telecom - Web Services - Web Hosting & Domain Registration Jobs & Education - Education - Vocational & Continuing Education Online Communities - Social Networks Demographics - Age - 25-34 Demographics - Gender - Male Honestly I don't know why this level is surprising. I think as the world gets more connected, the community is gonna get a little smaller (in feel, at least), and we're going to become less anonymous. If the bad guys get less anonymous too, and nobody pretends that this stuff is sufficient to definitely identify me, I don't see a problem. Yup, big "ifs."
- bad_user 15y ago
  I'm a 29 years old male, but according to Google I'm a 18-25 years old female. Oops.
  - huckfinnaafb 15y ago
    22 years old, it guessed I was 25-34.
  - jturn 15y ago
    Maybe you should lay off the Victoria Secret searches ;-) If you don't mind me asking, what were your categories? I am curious why they inferred female vs male.
    - bad_user 15y ago
      Arts & Entertainment - TV & Video - Online Video Arts & Entertainment - TV & Video - TV Shows & Programs Arts & Entertainment - TV & Video - TV Shows & Programs - TV Comedies Computers & Electronics Computers & Electronics - Programming Computers & Electronics - Programming - C & C++ Computers & Electronics - Programming - Java Computers & Electronics - Software - Internet Software Internet & Telecom - Email & Messaging Reference - General Reference - Time & Calendars Also, there was something about articles related to social stuff / basic rights, but I can't see it anymore (weird). So yeah, maybe it is because I used to watch Friends, Desperate Housewives and Sex and the City :D I know, I know, especially that last one; I got in the habit because of my wife and for some weird reason, I began liking that show.
deleted 15y ago
[deleted]
igorgue 15y ago
Interest are accurate, but they don't have my age, which is very weird knowing I have a public Google profile (Google+ profile now).
slowpoke 15y ago
Why use a cookie if you could finally make use of the Do-No-Track header (or however it was called)? Granted, that's a feature only found in newer browsers, but it could help speed up the adoption of that header. Anyways, I will continue to just block everything that remotely looks like Google (besides the API, that is. It's disconcerting to see how many websites rely on it to function properly).
deleted 15y ago
[deleted]
mtogo 15y ago
Ghostery + AdBlock, no information about me.
- mikle 15y ago
  Modified host file, no need to install software and it's multi-browser. No information about me.
  - unicornporn 15y ago
    tell me more about your hosts file.
    - mtogo 15y ago
      Here's one i've seen linked around a lot, but never used myself: http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.txt http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.txt I personally prefer Ghostery because it tells me exactly what was blocked and when.
      - unicornporn 15y ago
        thank you!
    - mikle 15y ago
      Here is the one I use: http://someonewhocares.org/hosts/ http://someonewhocares.org/hosts/ I had to rename it to see the site the OP linked, and it had no preference nor any personal info. I'll try it on my work computer on which I don't have neither a hosts file or an adblock when I'll get there.
      - unicornporn 15y ago
        thank you too!
  - ghostwords 15y ago
    How do you keep your host definitions current? The various AdBlocks and Ghostery all operate on the subscription model.
codabrink 15y ago
This always results in a redirect loop for me..
joshfinnie 15y ago
With this information, I have to wonder how I ever get mis-appropriate ads on sites (using adsense) these days? There have been some far misses (feminine products) that should easily be eliminated with the information on this page. Wonder if adverstisers don't use this option?
bsphil 15y ago
"No interest categories are associated with your ads preferences so far." Google has nothing on me, apparently.
- clobber 15y ago
  At the bottom they state "Your ads preferences only apply in this browser on this computer. They are reset if you delete your browser's cookies." You probably cleared your cookies already or are using a browser you don't normally use. I'm glad this is cookie based and not tied into the actual logged in Google account.
spullara 15y ago
You can also modify Yahoo!'s information on your account as well: http://info.yahoo.com/privacy/us/yahoo/opt_out/targeting/ http://info.yahoo.com/privacy/us/yahoo/opt_out/targeting/
ed2417 15y ago
Nice to see I at least view the ads of a much younger person as they are 35 years off on my demographics.
flatline 15y ago
Fascinating - it got my gender right and age right but I have no clue where it got the categories from - books and web development are probably the only two things that are even in the ballpark. "Online Goodies"? - no clue! Arts & Entertainment - Music & Audio - ... - Song Lyrics & Tabs Books & Literature Internet & Telecom - Web Services - Web Design & Development Jobs & Education - Education Law & Government Online Communities - Online Goodies Online Communities - Online Goodies - Skins Themes & Wallpapers Demographics - Age - 25-34 Demographics - Gender - Male
zobzu 15y ago
have to download a plugin to opt out wtf? they never hear of do-not-track?
danso 15y ago
Keep in mind that it's based on your current browser's cookies...I checked it at work and it says things like "Fiscal Policy News" and "Colleges and Universities" are among my interests...on my laptop, which I brought to work today, it's "Social Networks", "Soccer" and "Clubs & Nightlife"
BenSS 15y ago
There were some funny choices in mine. Apparently I'm twice my age, love race cars, sports, and reptiles. All wrong.
rue 15y ago
“Firefox can't establish a connection to the server at googleads.g.doubleclick.net.”
nhoss2 15y ago
If anyone is interested, I found this existed from a daily newsletter I subscribed to - http://dlewis.net/nik/ http://dlewis.net/nik/ Sure the things on the list aren't that bad, but if google can get that much just from you browsing the web they could probably get a lot more. And yeah they are transparent by showing what they know about you and it's one click to opt-out but how would someone even find that page in the first place.
lyime 15y ago
This is refreshing to see in some ways. I hope Google becomes even better at targeting.

224 points by nhoss2 15y ago

spydum 15y ago

Not sure if this is cool, or creepy. Nice that you can opt-out right there though.

koopajah 15y ago
I was wondering this morning why I had a facebook ad about a music band that I started listening a few weeks ago ONLY at work and ONLY on grooveshark. The band is not that famous to appear randomly in my facebook account so I wonder if this can be linked! You can also find : http://www.networkadvertising.org/managing/opt_out.asp http://www.networkadvertising.org/managing/opt_out.asp
- jamesteow 15y ago
  Well if you check Facebook at work and go to Grooveshark, they can track you. I think they might even be able to gather some info if you logged out of Facebook but I'm only partially sure of that.
fuzzix 15y ago
They appear to have nothing on me... Only feature on the page is the Opt Out button. Have I missed something? No idea why they'd have nothing, I am signed in on Google services all the time.
- budu3 15y ago
  Are you worried that Google knows nothing about you? :)
  - bruceboughton 15y ago
    If Google doesn't know about you, do you really exist?

deleted 15y ago

[deleted]

deleted 15y ago

[deleted]

Shenglong 15y ago

This is pretty cool, but it thinks I've quite a bit older than I am. :) I don't think there's anything wrong with targeted ads - I for one am not opting out!

Roboprog 15y ago
Funny, they erred on my age the other way. Did it also peg you as "25 - 34"? I wonder if this is some sort of default. Otherwise, it seems to have accurately tracked what I view in Chrome on this particular computer / boot partition at home. Would not expect it to track stuff at work or when booting to Windows to watch Netflix.
- Shenglong 15y ago
  Yes it did. I don't know if that's default, or if it's because most of my relevant content surrounds tech, financials, and intellectual property though. I'll check Chrome when I get home - it might give a better view of who I am.

ScottWhigham 15y ago

I use Noscript and have marked doubleclick as "Untrusted". It just shows "You cannot view or edit interests when you do not have an 'id' cookie. Opt-in to get a cookie."

koopajah 15y ago
Yeah, the point is to have a specific cookie, in which it is written you do not want to be tracked.

nvictor 15y ago

"Computers & Electronics - Programming - Java" Blasphemy! Python for ever!

hsmyers 15y ago

I have no problem with targeted ads excepting one. Many of the categories have no product! Lots of software related thingys, but nothing I can look at :( Many of the magazines that I still subscribe to at least have adds that allow me to fantasize about what I could do if I had but the funds...

gst 15y ago

"Your categories: You have opted out of Google's interest-based advertising. No interest categories are associated with your browser." To opt-out just go here: http://www.google.com/ads/preferences/html/intl/en/plugin/ http://www.google.com/ads/preferences/html/intl/en/plugin/

danielharan 15y ago
I'm curious. Why do you want ads shown to you NOT be targeted? Unless you're using adblock, you should be seeing a whole bunch of crappy ads for fat-loss solutions, IQ tests, "Which way is this mannequin turning?", etc... (Disclaimer: I co-founded a company now helping companies target ads. People opting out won't harm me economically, but I'm really trying to understand people's objections).
- tseabrooks 15y ago
  As a consumer I'm with you. If google is going to be showing me Ad's anyway... I'd rather they target them for me. It's not like opting out means they don't have giant warehouses of data on me or that they won't show me any ads. I guess I don't see what the potential up-sides are to opting out.
  - Andrew_Quentin 15y ago
    Being introduced to new things you did not know existed.
- bbarthel 15y ago
  Privacy - Normally my interests are more technology-oriented, so I would expect my ads to target computers and technology. However, every year around the holidays and my wife's birthday my browsing takes a more practical turn. If she were to hop on my laptop and notice that all my ads are now for jewelry, it doesn't take a genius to put 2+2 together, and the surprise is ruined. And this is just a benign example of how targeted ads might "leak" undesired information to third parties (imagine some of the more embarrassing things that might be targeted). Quality - My experience with targeted ads usually involves them lagging behind my purchase or interest. So if I set out to buy a new saw, by the time I start getting ads related to new saws, I have already purchased it. Everybody loses (Advertisers waste money targeting a purchase I already made, and I keep seeing ads for a product I don't need anymore). Both of these scenarios occurred recently, and I don't really know a good solution to the problem.

hackermom 15y ago

My Glimmerblocker proxy tells me that Google's info about me can be summed up in a 1 by 1 pixel transparent image. This makes me happy.

antonioe 15y ago

Hopefully this will reduce the remarketing ads I keep seeing(doubtful). I click 1 link on HN and then usually it's a YC company fills up all the ad units on every page. Ahh at least it's better then the get rich quick stuff or the 1-Secret Diet Trick ads on Facebook.

epaga 15y ago

Google is really leading the pack when it comes to their transparency regarding user data. This plus the Google Dashboard means basically anything Google knows about me is shown at one glance and I can opt out at the click of a button. They need to link to these preferences from the Dashboard (but I bet they're scared out of their minds that everyone will opt out...)

vapour 15y ago

very cool I too have the default appearing 25-34 age but my interests are spot on.

mcormier 15y ago

It's transparent but definitely not user friendly. When you opt out it uses a cookie so if your cookies get deleted you need to opt out again. Also, since opting out uses a cookie you must opt out on every browser on every machine you use. Definitely not convenient.

danielharan 15y ago
It's buried at the bottom of the page, but they link to the "Keep My Opt-Outs plugin". Just curious: are you opting out? Why?
extension 15y ago
How else could it be done?
- mcormier 15y ago
  On the server side. Associated with your account.
  - jonknee 15y ago
    With what account? Google serves on a ton of third party sites (and not just through AdSense, DoubleClick is huge). And that would require you to sign in to Google before you are opted-out, regardless if you were using Google or not. I use an plugin provided by Google to do the same thing, no worries about a cookie disappearing. http://www.google.com/ads/preferences/html/intl/en/plugin/ http://www.google.com/ads/preferences/html/intl/en/plugin/
- rachelbythebay 15y ago
  You'd need some kind of browser extension (aha!) to purposely keep that placeholder cookie set. Then you've just traded one problem for another. Now, if the browser came with it, and defaulted to on, then we'd really have something to talk about.
- beaumartinez 15y ago
  An HTTP header.

gulbrandr 15y ago

hmm it does not work for me: http://i.imgur.com/SDvIl.png http://i.imgur.com/SDvIl.png And my browser's cookies are not disabled.

danielharan 15y ago
Do you have AdBlock installed?
- gulbrandr 15y ago
  yes. Do you think it is because of adblock?
sjs 15y ago
Same here. I'm already using https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/gbiekjoijknlhijdjbaadobpkdhmoebb https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/gbiekjoijknlhijdjb...
glenstein 15y ago
Does this mean google has nothing on you (and me, I'm getting this message too), or that we just aren't seeing what google has on us?

alexholehouse 15y ago

On my original look at this, Google had one of my interests as hockey. I've never shown any interest in the sport, nor have any of my friends, so I was confused. Upon reloading the page, "Hockey" was gone, although I had taken a screenshot before, and noticed a number of other preference had been removed, leaving a much better fit of my activities. Prior to my refresh I had video streamining, photo sharing, and online video as my "interests" despite the fact I don't tend to use my computer for these kinds of things. These are obviously things I might be interested in (25-34 male demograph), but am not particularly. I wonder why they would appear and disappear like this? How often are the preferences updated (hourly? daily? monthly?)

danielharan 15y ago
Very strange. Do you share your computer with others? The change is probably due to caching. If your computer isn't shared, I'd blame Google's classification which isn't always very accurate. Best example: a page of photos of pole dancers was classified as "winter sports" because the secondary navigation linked to relevant content...
- alexholehouse 15y ago
  Indeed - no, I'm the sole user of the computer, it just seems odd that so many disappeared, I'd almost not believe it if I hadn't taken a screenshot! Considering Google's expertise with data you'd think they'd have enough NLP know-how to avoid errors like the one you describe - interesting though.
  - danielharan 15y ago
    Probably a lack of motivation rather than ability. Also, their current algo is probably "good enough" for most cases.
    - alexholehouse 15y ago
      Yeah - I guess when "good enough" gets you around $25 billion in revenue, it's probably good enough for now...

girl25haXe 15y ago

Me: Male from 35 to 44, no other information: That's not correct, I am a girl of 25.

ry0ohki 15y ago
I don't see any demographic information on that preferences page when I click the link?
divtxt 15y ago
Me: Male, 65+ I'm in my late 30s. They have my interests as Business News & Finance (correct), but no Tech (incorrect), so perhaps the ad system is guessing age & gender from interests?
katieben 15y ago
I'm female, 26, and it didn't even try to guess. Hehe maybe the programming interests throw it off. (:

lallysingh 15y ago

This is my full list, and none of it is surprising. I'm just glad they don't assume I'm older :-) Arts & Entertainment - Movies - Science Fiction & Fantasy Films Computers & Electronics Computers & Electronics - Hardware - ... - Chips & Processors Computers & Electronics - Hardware - ... - Sound & Video Cards Computers & Electronics - Hardware - Laptops Computers & Electronics - Programming Computers & Electronics - Software - Operating Systems - Linux & Unix Internet & Telecom - Web Services - Web Hosting & Domain Registration Jobs & Education - Education - Vocational & Continuing Education Online Communities - Social Networks Demographics - Age - 25-34 Demographics - Gender - Male Honestly I don't know why this level is surprising. I think as the world gets more connected, the community is gonna get a little smaller (in feel, at least), and we're going to become less anonymous. If the bad guys get less anonymous too, and nobody pretends that this stuff is sufficient to definitely identify me, I don't see a problem. Yup, big "ifs."

bad_user 15y ago
I'm a 29 years old male, but according to Google I'm a 18-25 years old female. Oops.
- huckfinnaafb 15y ago
  22 years old, it guessed I was 25-34.
- jturn 15y ago
  Maybe you should lay off the Victoria Secret searches ;-) If you don't mind me asking, what were your categories? I am curious why they inferred female vs male.
  - bad_user 15y ago
    Arts & Entertainment - TV & Video - Online Video Arts & Entertainment - TV & Video - TV Shows & Programs Arts & Entertainment - TV & Video - TV Shows & Programs - TV Comedies Computers & Electronics Computers & Electronics - Programming Computers & Electronics - Programming - C & C++ Computers & Electronics - Programming - Java Computers & Electronics - Software - Internet Software Internet & Telecom - Email & Messaging Reference - General Reference - Time & Calendars Also, there was something about articles related to social stuff / basic rights, but I can't see it anymore (weird). So yeah, maybe it is because I used to watch Friends, Desperate Housewives and Sex and the City :D I know, I know, especially that last one; I got in the habit because of my wife and for some weird reason, I began liking that show.

deleted 15y ago

[deleted]

igorgue 15y ago

Interest are accurate, but they don't have my age, which is very weird knowing I have a public Google profile (Google+ profile now).

slowpoke 15y ago

Why use a cookie if you could finally make use of the Do-No-Track header (or however it was called)? Granted, that's a feature only found in newer browsers, but it could help speed up the adoption of that header. Anyways, I will continue to just block everything that remotely looks like Google (besides the API, that is. It's disconcerting to see how many websites rely on it to function properly).

deleted 15y ago

[deleted]

mtogo 15y ago

Ghostery + AdBlock, no information about me.

mikle 15y ago
Modified host file, no need to install software and it's multi-browser. No information about me.
- unicornporn 15y ago
  tell me more about your hosts file.
  - mtogo 15y ago
    Here's one i've seen linked around a lot, but never used myself: http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.txt http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.txt I personally prefer Ghostery because it tells me exactly what was blocked and when.
    - unicornporn 15y ago
      thank you!
  - mikle 15y ago
    Here is the one I use: http://someonewhocares.org/hosts/ http://someonewhocares.org/hosts/ I had to rename it to see the site the OP linked, and it had no preference nor any personal info. I'll try it on my work computer on which I don't have neither a hosts file or an adblock when I'll get there.
    - unicornporn 15y ago
      thank you too!
- ghostwords 15y ago
  How do you keep your host definitions current? The various AdBlocks and Ghostery all operate on the subscription model.

codabrink 15y ago

This always results in a redirect loop for me..

joshfinnie 15y ago

With this information, I have to wonder how I ever get mis-appropriate ads on sites (using adsense) these days? There have been some far misses (feminine products) that should easily be eliminated with the information on this page. Wonder if adverstisers don't use this option?

bsphil 15y ago

"No interest categories are associated with your ads preferences so far." Google has nothing on me, apparently.

clobber 15y ago
At the bottom they state "Your ads preferences only apply in this browser on this computer. They are reset if you delete your browser's cookies." You probably cleared your cookies already or are using a browser you don't normally use. I'm glad this is cookie based and not tied into the actual logged in Google account.

spullara 15y ago

You can also modify Yahoo!'s information on your account as well: http://info.yahoo.com/privacy/us/yahoo/opt_out/targeting/ http://info.yahoo.com/privacy/us/yahoo/opt_out/targeting/

ed2417 15y ago

Nice to see I at least view the ads of a much younger person as they are 35 years off on my demographics.

flatline 15y ago

Fascinating - it got my gender right and age right but I have no clue where it got the categories from - books and web development are probably the only two things that are even in the ballpark. "Online Goodies"? - no clue! Arts & Entertainment - Music & Audio - ... - Song Lyrics & Tabs Books & Literature Internet & Telecom - Web Services - Web Design & Development Jobs & Education - Education Law & Government Online Communities - Online Goodies Online Communities - Online Goodies - Skins Themes & Wallpapers Demographics - Age - 25-34 Demographics - Gender - Male

zobzu 15y ago

have to download a plugin to opt out wtf? they never hear of do-not-track?

danso 15y ago

Keep in mind that it's based on your current browser's cookies...I checked it at work and it says things like "Fiscal Policy News" and "Colleges and Universities" are among my interests...on my laptop, which I brought to work today, it's "Social Networks", "Soccer" and "Clubs & Nightlife"

BenSS 15y ago

There were some funny choices in mine. Apparently I'm twice my age, love race cars, sports, and reptiles. All wrong.

rue 15y ago

“Firefox can't establish a connection to the server at googleads.g.doubleclick.net.”

nhoss2 15y ago

If anyone is interested, I found this existed from a daily newsletter I subscribed to - http://dlewis.net/nik/ http://dlewis.net/nik/ Sure the things on the list aren't that bad, but if google can get that much just from you browsing the web they could probably get a lot more. And yeah they are transparent by showing what they know about you and it's one click to opt-out but how would someone even find that page in the first place.

lyime 15y ago

This is refreshing to see in some ways. I hope Google becomes even better at targeting.