JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – In the digital era we live in, your smartphone is getting smarter, tracking your every move and sharing targeted ads.
We know it’s probably annoying for some. News4Jax on Thursday looked into ways you can keep this from being an issue. It’s as simple as a couple steps on your phone.
It’s not just your phone. It's your computer and even your tablet devices. They all have GPS tracking systems that allow you to use features, like maps, but those systems also allow advertisers a peek into your interests.
"When I’m on Instagram, there’s a lot of ads. We’ve been talking about cat food for a week. All the ads that pop up are just cat food," Alexandria Goytia told News4Jax. "Me and my neighbor talk about that all the time, actually."
Right now, companies are calling this targeted advertising. It helps them target what items to flash across your screen based on the places you shop and the things you search for on Google.
There are ways to get rid of these annoying pop-ups if you want. According to USA Today, you can follow these few steps to get rid of tracking:
USA Today reports that companies like Facebook, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and Google Play all make money off of mobile ads and this is how they continue to thrive.