Trumper ads

The price you pay for the great "free" Gmail service is that their bots get to read your mail. There's nothing you can do about that other than not use Gmail.

You *can* hide your web surfing from Google, though. Just stay signed-out of Google except when you need to be logged in for email or Docs etc. Sign out after checking email. You can delete Google cookies for added effect, but that may cause inconvenience when useful, stored info is lost. As for LVA, you could also stay signed-out except when necessary as when posting.

If you were logged out from Google and then surfed  LVA, it would be interesting to see what ads were served to you. You could also logout of LVA, while staying logged into Google to see if the ads you were getting were site-based or user-based.

I saw something some time ago, iirc, about Google's AdSense program where you could opt-out of ads based on your interests and receive random ads instead, and I may have seen an option to tell Google what kinds of ads you'd like to see, such as car ads or cruises. I'm not sure where I saw that, though, or how long ago. They've changed a lot of their TOS.

Good advice, Jeff, I'll try some of those things, if for no other reason than to satisfy my curiosity. It's true what you say, that Big Google Brother is always watching. We'll have to break up the big data companies, just as the big oil, railroad, and telephone companies were broken up in the 20th century. They have WAAAAAY too much power.

Your recent browsing and Gmail history isn't the only way they know to target you. At this point, Google probably has a pretty good idea of your race, sex, age, location, income, and education. For example, if you are a white 60-year-old guy in Alabama with a high school education and a lower-middle-class income, assuming you are a Trump supporter is probably a pretty good bet. If you are in a swing-state the ad might ask you for your vote, if not, they will probably ask you for money. Both sides do it.

But why make a big deal out of it anyway. I remember back in the old days when I was presented with a political ad in a newspaper from someone that I disliked. Do you know what I did? I turned the page.

As I've mentioned around these parts before, every time you click on the link you enrich the hosting website and cost your political opponent some money. Somewhere I heard it's about a quarter. And you don't have to read the ad - use control-click if you don't want to ever see it. I think it's fun, and over this political season, I think I've cost Trump and his allies hundreds of dollars.

And no, I'm not afraid of getting internet cooties from right-wing sites. Your chances of somehow picking up malware are minuscule, assuming you are not dumb enough to click on and install a .exe or .bat file. 

I think from now on the LVA should check with Kevin on what they advertise, who they allow on their website and any other item that needs approval from the great and wise king of the LVA. All hail Kevin!

This thread wasn't complete without your opinion. Thank you for your constructive and insightful comment.

No problem your highness!

No, no, I'm not royalty. Only Trump is.

One of the best ways to scramble Google and other site's abilities to identify you is to utilize a VPN and connect through an EU country as they have strong privacy laws. Most of the ads I see these days are in Dutch. Proton VPN is free and works well for me. My final tip would be to logout of Google Services and Facebook and never use either account as a login in for another site when that option is given. 

The latest--fewer political ads. Now I see, everywhere I look, a gross picture of someone holding a stick covered with earwax. Someone has evidently concluded that I'll see that sickening picture and immediately be motivated to click on that ad.

I'd rather see a picture of Sheldon Adelson. No, on second thought, gimme the earwax.

Poor old DonDiego usually doesn't even notice ads on this page.

He just scanned the top of this page and sees an ad touting "The Junior Biotech ETF - IBBJ"

He's never been asked to join "the forces of evil". 

Different strokes for different folks !