Google to make it easy for the users to control the data being shared for personalized ads

We all would agree to the fact that Data-privacy is one of the major growing concerns among the users. With the data theft scandals like the Cambridge Analytica and others, the users today have become more cautious in the terms of data privacy. The Cambridge Analytica had affected the Facebook majorly and it has also pushed the other companies to rewrite their privacy policies as the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) also came along around same time.

Google is said to be the biggest harvester when it comes to personal data collection. Now the tech giant has shared information on how it collects data and gives its users control over the data. Google has also been criticized a lot when it comes to displaying personalized ads, which gives us an idea of how many personal data the company has access to.

Google took it to its official blog post to reveal that it will be releasing a new Ad settings experience, which will make it easier for the users to understand and control the ads that are tailored by the users. Users can further locate the new Ad settings page at the bottom of the Chrome New Tab page.

The Ad settings page was introduced back in 2009 and it allows a user to go through the list of factors which are considered as algorithms in order to decide which ads to serve. Also, with a single click on the categories user can get more detail and even remove some if they want.

Commenting on the matter Google said that, "This information helps make ads more relevant and useful to you. However, in the new Ad Settings, if you no longer want us to tailor your ads based on one of these factors you can choose to turn it off. Turning off a factor means you'll no longer receive tailored ads related to it across our services, and on websites and apps that partner with us to show ads, as long as you're signed in to your Google Account. The ads you see can still be based on general factors, like the subject of what you're looking at or the time of day, or any other factor that is still turned on."

Google is also reportedly making some changes to its "Why this ad" feature which was introduced back in 2011. The feature made it easy for the users to understand why they can see some specific ads. Now, the tech giant is expanding the tool in order to make it available for its products.