[Sable99]

This morning I was on Amazon looking for some items for my puppy. When I got on TOTV a few minutes ago, I noticed there was an Amazon ad in the left hand column showing the items that I had looked for this morning on Amazon. Is that normal? I was using Safari on my iPad3.

[Jima64]

Yes that is normal. It will also occur on your pc. Guess your internet travels are tracked and suggestions made to you.

[justjim]

On the Internet there is no place to hide.

[Bonny]

Yes, it happens on many sites. Even facebook.

[ThatOneGuy]

It's common, but only normal in profoundly twisted worlds and police states. Unfortunately, too few are aware of the extent tracking, advertising manipulation, and lack of privacy prevalent around us.

There are countermeasures to block tracking and targeted advertising. When released this fall, iOS 9 is said to allow some privacy protection for iPad and iPhones. But until then, realize your iPad usage amounts to living in a fishbowl.

[rexxfan]

Reputable sites such as Amazon, Facebook and Google often provide a way you can opt out of interest-based ads.

For Amazon, see [ame]http://www.amazon.com/gp/dra/info[/ame]
For Facebook, see https://www.facebook.com/help/247395082112892
For Google, see https://www.google.com/settings/u/0/...nticated?hl=en

I don't recommend ad blocker extensions for your browser. They can cause too many problems. Plus they deprive websites that are provided to you free revenue they need to continue providing the service at no cost.
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bc

[Bavarian]

How do you think "free" websites like TOTV can earn enough money to stay in business?