Google

Why Does My Wife Get Ads For Things I Search?

Targeted advertising has become a ubiquitous aspect of online experiences, leading to intriguing and sometimes perplexing situations for couples. One common concern arises when one partner begins to notice that their spouse is seeing ads that correlate directly with the searches they’ve conducted. This phenomenon raises critical questions about privacy, data sharing, and the intricacies of online behaviour tracking. Factors such as shared devices, synchronized accounts, and the role of cookies contribute to this intersecting advertising landscape. Understanding how these elements work together can shed light on the mechanisms behind seemingly intrusive ads. As digital interactions increasingly blend personal and shared online spaces, couples must navigate the complexities of targeted marketing with care. Therefore, exploring the underlying causes of this advertising overlap reveals essential insights into modern privacy and consumer behaviour.

Shared Devices and Accounts

One of the primary reasons your wife may receive ads related to your searches is the use of shared devices and accounts. Many households operate under a single shared device—be it a smartphone, tablet, or computer—where multiple users are logged into the same account. When you search for something online while logged into a shared account, the data from your searched keywords may influence the ad recommendations provided not just to you but to anyone else using that same account.

When users share a Google Account or other login credentials, any activity—including search history—is associated with that account profile. This means that both you and your wife share the same advertising profile, leading advertisements to be served based on both users’ online interactions. For example, if you search for running shoes or recipes, those items may show up in her personalized ads if she shares the same account (How to Resolve Personalization Issues on Shared Device).

Device Syncing And Cross-Device Tracking

Cross-device tracking is a technology that allows businesses to track users across multiple devices, and sync their activity across devices to the same user. This can be done by using shared identifiers, such as sign-in data, or by using trackers like cookies or ultrasonic signals.

Cross-device tracking can help businesses:

Create a user profile

By tracking a user’s activity across devices, businesses can create a profile of the user, which can help them predict what type of ads to show the user.

Deliver consistent experiences

By tracking a user’s activity across devices, businesses can ensure that they deliver a consistent experience across different platforms.

Increase conversion rates

By understanding how users interact with a website or app across devices, businesses can adjust their strategy to meet their needs better.

There are two common methods for cross-device tracking:

Deterministic tracking: Uses known identifiers to deliver more accurate personalization.
Probabilistic tracking: Uses anonymous data points rather than first-party identifiers.

To improve accuracy and coverage, businesses can use a combination of both deterministic and probabilistic methods.

The Role Of Cookies

Cookies are small text files that websites send to a user’s device when they visit a website. They play a key role in the user experience by:

Personalizing the user experience

Cookies can remember a user’s preferences, such as their language, region, or username. They can also remember what a user has added to their shopping cart, and retrieve it when they revisit the site.

Improving site navigation

Cookies can make it easier to revisit a website and can display selected settings and content based on the user’s previous visit.

Analyzing site usage

Cookies can collect information about how a user interacts with a website, such as which pages they visit most often.

Enabling personalized marketing

Advertisers can use cookies to track a user’s activity across sites and target them with ads.

Keeping users logged in

Cookies can keep a user logged in as they browse from page to page

Privacy Settings And Preferences

You can control your ad preferences and privacy settings on your device and in your Google account:

Android:

Open Settings
Tap Privacy and security
Tap Ads
Tap Ads privacy
Tap Ad topics
Select the topics you want to block
Tap OK

You can also delete your advertising ID by going to Settings > Privacy > Ads > Delete advertising ID.

Chrome:

Open Chrome
Tap More in the top right
Tap Settings
Tap Privacy and security
Tap Ad privacy
Select the ad feature you want to turn on or off

Google account:

Tap your profile picture
Follow the link to your account

You can use your Google account to:

Control what data is saved to your account
Use Activity Controls to personalize your experience across Google services
Set your data to automatically delete
Customize your ad experiences on Google Search, Discover, and YouTube
Reduce ads about certain sensitive ad topics
Turn off ad personalization altogether
Permanently delete the activity data tied to your account

The reason your wife receives ads for things you search is tied intricately to the interconnected digital environment we inhabit today. Shared devices and accounts, cross-device tracking, and the indiscriminate nature of cookie-based tracking all contribute to the overlap in advertising. Understanding these mechanisms highlights the importance of internet privacy and control over personal data. By managing privacy settings and taking greater care in how accounts are shared, couples can navigate the complexities of targeted advertising more effectively while preserving their individual preferences and needs. Ultimately, while the digital landscape can feel invasive, it also offers tools to tailor experiences and maintain a sense of personal digital space.