Criticism towards the online ad industry is abound. The lack of transparency in online tracking and targeted advertising is in fact a good reason for concern. Currently it seems that all the power of gathering personal data is in the hands of companies, which are only interested in leading us to click on more “consumption banners”.
Why not change the status quo by understanding how the ad industry works? Floodwatch just caught my eye today. As a Chrome extension it offers:
“tools to help you understand both the volume and the types of ads you’re being served during the course of normal browsing, with the goal of increasing awareness of how advertisers track your browsing behavior, build their version of your online identity, and target their ads to you as an individual.”
Floodwatch’s ultimate aim is to provide users with information about targeted ads to fight back against the tracking and targeting practices of the ad industry.
advertisements, behavioral targeting, Floodwatch, privacy
