Twitter just added tailored ads to its site. Users however can opt out of the process and this made the EFF happy.
To disable this in Twitter: Go to Settings > Account > uncheck the box next to Promoted content that says Tailor ads based on information shared by ad partners.
Although some folks frown upon such things, ad blocking is common practice among most Geeks. Indeed, ads are the life blood of the internet. Companies like Twitter, Facebook, and Google exist to make money from ads, not to provide us with freebies. This site also has ads which provide just enough cash to keep things going here (though I’ve no problem with you using ad blocking software here). Having said this I will admit to using ad blocking software. The reasons are.
1 – I don’t want to be tracked.
2 – I don’t want to be annoyed (pop-ups, flashy stuff, etc.).
I congratulate Twitter on a job well done and hope other companies follow suit. Until they do, here is what I use.
1 – Adblock Plus for Firefox + NoScript (Whitelisting the sites I trust). Firefox is what I use for web browsing.
2 – Adblock Plus for Chrome. I use Chrome for Gmail and things that require secure connections.
3 – AdFree Android – Google (an ad company) pulled all ad blocking software from the Play store (surprise!). Not sure if this is still in development. Download link is still active http://adfree.bigtincan.com/adfree.apk .
AdBlock Plus has a beta going for Internet Explorer. Adblock Plus also has add-on for Android and Opera.
Any suggestions?