Contextual advertising
Contextual advertising shows ads that fit the content around them, rather than a profile built about you and your past behaviour.
What is contextual advertising?
Contextual advertising is based on the surroundings in which an ad appears: if an article is about hiking, an ad for hiking boots fits. What matters is the content you are looking at right now, not who you are or what you clicked on before. That sets it apart from personalised advertising, where ads are tailored to a profile built about you.
How it works and why it matters
Advertisers usually attach keywords to their campaign, and the system looks for content that matches them. You may know the principle from magazines, where an ad for cycling gear sits next to a cycling article. Because no knowledge about the individual reader is needed, this approach can work with less personal data. That ties in with data minimisation and the question of how much online tracking advertising really requires.
What to keep in mind
Contextual ads are still ads: they can catch your eye without you having searched for anything, and they do not always fit well. Sometimes an ad matches just one word in the text. Make sure ads are clearly recognisable as advertising and be wary of offers that sound too good to be true. Check a service’s settings and privacy policy to see which data it uses for ads; the term alone does not tell you that.
On Friendstime
Ads on Friendstime are not based on a profile about you. Advertisers give their campaign keywords, which are compared with the text of the posts between which the ad appears; matching ads come first. No user profile, no history, no interest or behaviour data, not the person who happens to be looking, and no chat content go into this selection. If there is no matching hit, the ads rotate at random. Advertisers pay per click.
Frequently asked questions
How is it different from personalised advertising?
Contextual ads are chosen based on the content around them. Personalised ads are chosen based on a profile of the person looking. The first kind needs no information about you, the second does.
Are my chats used for ads?
No. On Friendstime, chat content is not part of the ad selection, and neither are a user profile, history, or interest and behaviour data.
How are ads chosen on Friendstime?
Advertisers set keywords for their campaign. These are matched against the text of the posts the ad appears between; matching ads come first. If nothing matches, ads rotate at random. Advertisers pay per click.
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