The current leading mobile operating systems, iOS, Android, and Windows 10, all offer a distinctive ad identifier on apps you often use. Apps work with this identifier in keeping track of your interests to generate personalized advertisements.
If you hate seeing these customized ads, all three operating systems administer a strategy to reset or disable the app identifier. You will still see mobile advertisements, they just won’t be customized to your interests anymore.
The Opting Out Process
Based on experts who sell electronics, this process will not remove in-app advertisements or lessen the number of ads you will see on your mobile. Rather, it hinders the attempts of the identifier that enables ad companies to track your application use.
- iOS
Apple launched this process in iOS 6. Beforehand, adverts depended on a specialized device identifier to keep track of your gadget all the time. Today, they depend on an ad-tracking identifier you can easily reset or disable. This affects the in-app ads offered by the company’s iAd system.
To change this setting:
- Choose and open the “Settings” app.
- Click on the “Privacy” tab.
- Select the option for “Advertising.” This is at the bottom corner of your gadget’s screen.
- Enable the option for “Limit Ad Tracking.” Alternatively, choose “Reset Advertising Identifier” if you just want to reset the feature.
It’s also possible to disarm advertisements that are location-based.
- Open the “Settings” app.
- Choose the “Privacy” category.
- Click on the tab that states “Location Services.”
- Opt for the “System Services” option. This is at the bottom corner of the list.
- Click the “Location-based iADs” option to disable said feature.
- Android
There is also a tool that can execute the same task on Android gadgets. The system functions much like the feature on the iPhone and iPad. But instead of working with a special, unchangeable identifier to determine your gadget, it applies an “Anonymous ID” that can reset or disable personalized ads. This method can be found in the Google Settings app which the internet giant discreetly coded into units through Google Play Services.
To change this setting:
- Launch the Android app drawer.
- Open the “Google Settings” app.
- Choose “Ads” and look for the “Services” option.
- Enable the choice to “Opt out of internet-based ads.” Alternatively, you can just choose “Reset Advertising ID” if you wish to reset the feature and not completely disable it.
- Windows 10
The reset or disable feature for Microsoft will only affect universal applications downloaded or bought from the Windows Store. The traditional Windows app that showcase ads will still present several personalized ads.
To switch this setting:
- Launch “Start” and choose “Settings.”
- Click the “Privacy” button.
- Tap the option that states “Let apps use my advertising ID for experience across apps (turning this off will reset your ID)” to disable the feature. Alternatively, choose to “Reset ID.”
While these options are almost 100% foolproof, sometimes, personalized ads still come up. To limit this occurrence, you can take note of these apps and ads and make a report through your OS app store.
