Protecting Your Personal Information from Online Targeted Advertising

Many mobile apps and online platforms implement varying types of technology to track and collect information regarding your online activity. Through a process known as third-party tracking, organizations are able to monitor your activity across a majority of the online spaces you visit. The data gathered about your interests and behaviors grants advertisers the knowledge desired and ability to present you with targeted advertisements.

Activity tracking

There are a number of reasons why a company may wish to keep a record of your online activity:

• Convenience: By retaining your user preferences and digital information, sites you visit seek to provide a sense of convenience to your online experience with their service. This includes saving usernames and passwords or items placed in your online shopping cart that you did not purchase.
• Personalization: In tracking your browsing and shopping history, platforms often attempt to personalize their content directly to your needs and interests. The local weather, nearby social events and topic of interest stories may find their way to your online feed.
• Analytics: Companies gather analytics to learn about your visit to their site, including the amount of time you interacted with the page and the type of device you used to do so.

   

Safeguarding your information

Even though this tracking capability exists, not everyone wants their personal information exposed online for businesses to utilize. By implementing the following practices, you can increase your online security and work to prevent websites from gathering your information:

• Delete your search history: By periodically clearing your online search history, cache and cookies, digital ads inspired by any of your prior online activity will dissipate. No longer do they have a source from which to draw information they can employ.
• Manage your system’s privacy settings: Most web browsers are equipped with privacy settings that allow you to edit your preferences and limit the amount of information a website can gather about you. Among common options is the ability to restrict a website from accessing your online search history, as well as your location. Note that these available protections and settings vary depending on the internet browser you use. Even with modifications you make, you will continue to see ads online, but by reviewing and revising your privacy settings, said ads will no longer be catered to your individual interests based on information gathered from your online activity.
• Ad blockers: Ad blockers can be installed directly in your web browser to prevent a majority of ads from appearing in said browser. Though ad blockers do not prevent all forms of online advertising and tracking, in following rules dictated by you or the service’s developer, an ad blocker serves as a filter for online content attempting to reach you.
• Review cookie notices: Some websites notify you of the use of cookies and may permit you to choose what kind, if any, to allow. Whether you enable those necessary for site functionality or for advertising purposes, consider taking time to review the site’s policy and select the option that best meets your preferences.

   

Social Media

Social media platforms on which you have a presence frequently track your online behavior, especially on the platform itself. These apps often request access to the information stored on your device, such as your contacts, location, and photos, which provides the platform with personalized knowledge it can use to curate an individualized algorithm, resulting in targeted ads steered in your direction.

Over time, social media has become a space where scammers can place misleading ads in hopes of stealing money from unsuspecting users or manipulate them into divulging confidential financial information. According to the Federal Trade Commission, in 2025, losses of over $95 million were reported by social media users who placed an online order for a product advertised on their social media feed from a source that was later revealed to be a scam. Whether the product is an impersonation of a legitimate brand or is fully nonexistent, these ads from scammers use the data available to them through the platform to pull information from your digital footprint and specifically cater these false products to you.

To prevent this activity from reaching you as best you can, utilize your smartphone’s privacy settings. On the social media apps you use, view the information they can access and consider removing any unnecessary permissions they may have been granted. You might also consider deleting other apps seeking access to files and data they do not need to function.

For more information and helpful tips on fraud prevention, visit Trustmark’s Identity Theft and Fraud Prevention page to ensure you are taking the right measures in keeping your personal and financial information safe.