Privacy

Information about consumer buying habits is a key advantage for advertisers who purchase ad space on the Internet. However, it can also create issues for people concerned about privacy. New, sophisticated software is able to add small software files to browsers. These software files track which sites an individual visits. For example, if a user clicks an ad containing video that uses Adobe’s Flash or HTML5, the advertiser can compile a list of sites that she visits after clicking the ad. With this information, it can display ads based on what these habits suggest about her interests. For instance, advertisers might display ads about sporting events to people who visit sports-oriented sites.

If a user fills out forms at any of the sites she visits while being tracked, the tracking software has access to the information on the form. This allows advertisers to gather more detailed demographic information. Information gathered in this manner from sites such as social networks is a powerful way to attract advertisers. In turn, advertising networks that place ads at many different sites are able to amass large databases of demographic information about a user’s browsing and purchasing habits. Mining this data and tailoring it for ad campaigns is referred to as behavioral advertising.