# This website has had some...weird adds.



## Druidsleep (May 15, 2020)

Okay so I've been on the site for a while seen a tons of adds 90% are animal crossing themed some are sketchy
Like this one I've seen a lot recently

https://googleads.g.doubleclick.net...RL]https://www.iggm.com/animal-crossing-bells[/URL]

Sorry for long link basically it's a website where you buy nmt or bells with real money! I find that outrageous!

Moving on from that I have seen some...Uncomfortable adds.
My wifi has broadband safe so like nothing even remotely....um...unsatisfactory can appear...I have seen some adds on this site advertising what looks like a hentai manga. Obviously it's none of my business who tbt let's post adds.
Dude to my age I don't really mind but since animal crossing is played by young children I don't think it's....ethical...

Look I don't know, this is none of my business...I just wanted to say.

Edit I only get adds sometimes


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## Stil (May 15, 2020)

Lol I haven’t seen anything weird yet. I could be wrong but I think it’s based on what sites you have visited lol.


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## Trent the Paladin (May 15, 2020)

The majority of mine have been Animal Crossing related or related to past shopping history (Brooklinen), though I refreshed a couple times and got some Geico ads. Either Google Adsense or Adchoice seems to provide the majority of the ads.


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## deSPIRIA (May 15, 2020)

the only ads ive seen are related to cars or animal crossing. i have no interest in the former so i dont know why thats happening


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## seliph (May 15, 2020)

i barely look at the ads but it's usually shopping or some generic mobile game

if you get inappropriate ones i'd imagine you should report it/make a contact the staff thread


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## Antonio (May 15, 2020)

Aren't ads usually based on what sites you visit?


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## Loubelle (May 15, 2020)

I don't use adblock, but I don't get any ads here 0.0 idk why. I would say maybe because I have pop-up blocker, but I haven't gotten any messages indicating that something is trying to pop up idk ;-;

edit: unless you mean in general and not specifically tbt in which case my bad   I normally get normal ads. Not always stuff based off what I have been searching up, but normal stuff like kitchen or furniture things idk ;P


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## Antonio (May 15, 2020)

I also like to point out its Ads not Adds. Also, there isn't an option specify "I don't care" in the polls. Feels a little bias.


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## Strela (May 15, 2020)

The sketchy one prolly comes from other websites you tend to visit.... they are based on what sites you frequent.


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## Cadbberry (May 15, 2020)

I don't really see ads but they are mainly Animal Crossing and oddly Glasses ads, but I don't look up glasses lol


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## hamster (May 15, 2020)

lol arent ads usually based on the websites you visit


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## deSPIRIA (May 15, 2020)

Strela said:


> The sketchy one prolly comes from other websites you tend to visit.... they are based on what sites you frequent.



true............

......OP?


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## Jeremy (May 15, 2020)

I've never seen any sketchy ads here, although it's always possible some strange ones might show up from time to time. We did go ahead and ban the one selling bells for money though.


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## carefree-coconut (May 15, 2020)

Antonio said:


> I also like to point out its Ads not Adds. Also, there isn't an option specify "I don't care" in the polls. Feels a little bias.


What’s with the needless hostility? Op was just asking a question damn


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## Ploom (May 15, 2020)

carefree-coconut said:


> What’s with the needless hostility? Op was just asking a question damn


agree, I thought the same thing when I saw that post.

also.. in the context they used it, wouldn't it be "biased" not "bias?" just since they're so keen on correcting people about trivial things...


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## Antonio (May 15, 2020)

carefree-coconut said:


> What’s with the needless hostility? Op was just asking a question damn


There was no hostility, yall just reading into my post a little too much.


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## LambdaDelta (May 15, 2020)

enjoy how op's just letting people know more about his offsite private time browsing


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## Antonio (May 15, 2020)

Ploom said:


> agree, I thought the same thing when I saw that post.
> 
> also.. in the context they used it, wouldn't it be "biased" not "bias?" just since they're so keen on correcting people about trivial things...


Yes, you are correct. My intent was to simply correct them without any tone bias. Also, all I did was mention the grammar mistake in hopes they realize their error as it was being repeated multiple times and I assumed they didn't know how to properly spell it. You were be nit picky on purpose because you assumed I was being hostile.


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## 0orchid (May 15, 2020)

Just checked and I have an ad for a dog collar but I don't own a dog


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## Ploom (May 15, 2020)

Antonio said:


> Yes, you are correct. My intent was to simply correct them without any tone bias. Also, all I did was mention the grammar mistake in hopes they realize their error as it was being repeated multiple times and I assumed they didn't know how to properly spell it. You were be nit picky on purpose because you assumed I was being hostile.


this is really unimportant and trivial so that's fine, I was just agreeing with the other member who stated that your post sounded rude. It was the combination of the correction and stating how you don't care about the topic or w/e. Maybe it had a rude intention, maybe not. It probably doesn't really matter.

also, I was being nit-picky just to parallel the correction you made to OP. I couldn't care less if people mis-spell something or use improper grammar. Even with errors and whatnot I feel like people can usually understand what a person's meaning/intention is, and that was sort of my point (that grammatical corrections are often made for the purpose of being rude or snarky, not because someone genuinely thinks the error will cause a misunderstanding.)

but really, don't wanna get into anything. Its totally possible we did mistake your message for being rude when that wasn't the intention.


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## AppleBitterCrumble (May 15, 2020)

I haven't seen a single ad on here


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## Mairmalade (May 15, 2020)

Quick reminder to keep posts on-topic. It can be difficult to determine the tone of text but there is no need to debate that here. 

I only see ads on mobile and haven't seen any non-game related ads yet.


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## virtualpet (May 15, 2020)

Huh I just turned off adblock and haven't seen any ads, but maybe that's because we're on desktop?


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## Eevees (May 15, 2020)

I use adblock for reasons. But I havent recieved without adblock strange ads.


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## Antonio (May 15, 2020)

I got an ad for American Airlines since I bought a ticket.


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## Faux (May 15, 2020)

Guys, not every single as is based on your browsing history, damn.

I'm an aroace person with absolutely no interest in dating, but I get random singles ads, on YOUTUBE in the recommended videos. It Usually is, but it isn't always.


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## FireNinja1 (May 15, 2020)

You don't see ads if you either have adblock or are signed in.

That being said, I've had some pretty unpleasant experiences with ads on this site before (random redirects to sketchy websites while navigating Mafia threads, for example). That was at least a year ago, probably more. I'd recommend you report any instances of inappropriate ads to a moderator; they might be able to look into that for you.


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## carefree-coconut (May 15, 2020)

Centuria said:


> Guys, not every single as is based on your browsing history, damn.
> 
> I'm an aroace person with absolutely no interest in dating, but I get random singles ads, on YOUTUBE in the recommended videos. It Usually is, but it isn't always.


Yup! No need to try and berate op for asking a very valid question potentially regarding the safety of minors!


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## Antonio (May 15, 2020)

carefree-coconut said:


> Yup! No need to try and berate op for asking a very valid question potentially regarding the safety of minors!


No one was berating...

	Post automatically merged: May 15, 2020



Centuria said:


> Guys, not every single as is based on your browsing history, damn.
> 
> I'm an aroace person with absolutely no interest in dating, but I get random singles ads, on YOUTUBE in the recommended videos. It Usually is, but it isn't always.


Do you possibly have ad based on history turned off? Usually when you are signed in, ads are based on your history while video ads are based on your watch history.

Have you been watching relationship related videos?


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## alv4 (May 15, 2020)

Sometimes the ads that appear are personalized to you taking account your activity. Some ads are location targeted. 

If you want to turn off the personalized ads of google, just go to:




__





						Account settings: Your browser is not supported.
					






					adssettings.google.com
				



and change the settings.


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## Antonio (May 15, 2020)

alv4 said:


> Sometimes the ads that appear are personalized to you taking account your activity. Some ads are location targeted.
> 
> If you want to turn off the personalized ads of google, just go to:
> 
> ...


This is extremely helpful for people who don't want directed ads.


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## carefree-coconut (May 15, 2020)

Antonio said:


> No one was berating...
> 
> Post automatically merged: May 15, 2020
> 
> ...


I just mean the obvious “lol that’s just your browsing history” which is insinuating that the problem is solely with the op and doesn’t help answer the question.

It may, or may not be the case that op’s personal searches are affecting the advertisements, but the point in conducting a poll here is to see if other people (all with different search histories)  are having similar experiences or not


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## Faux (May 15, 2020)

Antonio said:


> Do you possibly have ad based on history turned off? Usually when you are signed in, ads are based on your history while video ads are based on your watch history.
> 
> Have you been watching relationship related videos?



No to both, because I have unending ads from Zenni and Amazon.
Sometimes it just takes Animal Crossing, finds an Animal Crossing site being advertised, and calls it a day.


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## Antonio (May 15, 2020)

carefree-coconut said:


> I just mean the obvious “lol that’s just your browsing history” which is insinuating that the problem is with solely with the op and doesn’t help answer the question.
> 
> It may, or may not be the case that op’s personal searches are affecting the advertisements, but the point in conducting a poll here is to see if other people (all with different search histories)  are having similar experiences or not


Understandable however not many people are having this problem so it may have to do with their history and ads catering to them. 

Suggesting the idea that it could be due to their history does help because ads are usually directed based on the user not the site.

	Post automatically merged: May 15, 2020



Centuria said:


> No to both, because I have unending ads from Zenni and Amazon.
> Sometimes it just takes Animal Crossing, finds an Animal Crossing site being advertised, and calls it a day.


Hmm, that's understandable. I literally just search for Mac laptops last week and I have been getting Mac shop listings about it since then.


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## Pluel (May 15, 2020)

I haven’t even seen one ad lol (I’m on mobile)


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## wearebap (May 15, 2020)

hold up........ theres ads?

_edit: OOOOH SNAP I NEVER SAW THEM UNTIL NOW LOOOL_


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## Kadori (May 15, 2020)

Ooh I've got a brooklinen ad! I've been thinking about buying drop dead expensive sheets in an economy crisis


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## toenuki (May 16, 2020)

Posting the ads I get here. Today is a winner.

We got True Love Tester, some weird Minecraft Classic thing and... Miraculous Ladybug kiss.
Also some Forge of Empires/GOT video??

Post/Comment your ads!


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## kayleee (May 16, 2020)

I’ve never seen an ad on this website guess I’m just that cool ✌


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## SarahsNY (May 16, 2020)

I’ve never seen an add either, on mobile or desktop, no ad block. I didn’t even know the site had ads!

As for everyone claiming ads are largely dependent on browsing history, that’s really not as simple as it seems. OP could have literally searched “Garfield” google sees they’re interested in comics, the hentai ad is technically advertising a comic, so they get that ad. Even at 14 using the internet I’d get ads for elderly home insurance, when that for sure wasn’t related to my searches.


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## mayortiffany (May 16, 2020)

The ads you see are usually based on your activity on other sites. If you're getting a lot of Animal Crossing content, it's probably because you're seeing that often.

I agree that sometimes the ads that come up on websites can be inappropriate, especially if that website gets a lot of younger users. Not sure what Bell Tree Forums can do to monitor that though - is there a place where people can report that to the mods?

I use AdBlock myself so I don't see ads much anymore


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## UglyMonsterFace (May 16, 2020)

Am I blind? I haven't seen a single add on these forums lol. Where do they appear?


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## xara (May 16, 2020)

i’ve literally never seen an ad on this site - i only use it mobile so maybe that’s why?


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## Druidsleep (May 16, 2020)

Antonio said:


> Aren't ads usually based on what sites you visit?


Ah I know what's your trying to say but a I have no interest in manga so I have never searched it and b I have no interest in romance

	Post automatically merged: May 16, 2020



Antonio said:


> Aren't ads usually based on what sites you visit?


Ah I know what's your trying to say but a I have no interest in manga so I have never searched it and b I have no interest in romance

	Post automatically merged: May 16, 2020



UglyMonsterFace said:


> Am I blind? I haven't seen a single add on these forums lol. Where do they appear?


Right side

	Post automatically merged: May 16, 2020



Centuria said:


> Guys, not every single as is based on your browsing history, damn.
> 
> I'm an aroace person with absolutely no interest in dating, but I get random singles ads, on YOUTUBE in the recommended videos. It Usually is, but it isn't always.


Yup I agree the subject makes me uncomfortable but I have had adds based on it

	Post automatically merged: May 16, 2020



Antonio said:


> No one was berating...
> 
> Post automatically merged: May 15, 2020
> 
> ...


Not a single one

	Post automatically merged: May 16, 2020



Antonio said:


> No one was berating...
> 
> Post automatically merged: May 15, 2020
> 
> ...


Not a single one


SarahsNY said:


> I’ve never seen an add either, on mobile or desktop, no ad block. I didn’t even know the site had ads!
> 
> As for everyone claiming ads are largely dependent on browsing history, that’s really not as simple as it seems. OP could have literally searched “Garfield” google sees they’re interested in comics, the hentai ad is technically advertising a comic, so they get that ad. Even at 14 using the internet I’d get ads for elderly home insurance, when that for sure wasn’t related to my searches.


ay thanks you have actually explained this really well!


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## Antonio (May 16, 2020)

Usually ads are cater to you, they aren't usually 100% based on your search. Here's what you may see the ad:



> *Reasons you might see an ad*
> 
> Your info:
> Info in your Google Account, like your age range and gender
> ...



Does any of the criterias might be why you have the ad @Druidsleep?


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## Hay (May 16, 2020)

I would invest in a ad blocker if you used TBT on your comp <3 I dont see any on mobile though


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## FireNinja1 (May 16, 2020)

mayortiffany said:


> The ads you see are usually based on your activity on other sites. If you're getting a lot of Animal Crossing content, it's probably because you're seeing that often.
> 
> I agree that sometimes the ads that come up on websites can be inappropriate, especially if that website gets a lot of younger users. Not sure what Bell Tree Forums can do to monitor that though - is there a place where people can report that to the mods?
> 
> I use AdBlock myself so I don't see ads much anymore


I'd just create a Contact The Staff thread or something. At the very least, the moderators / admins should be aware of what kind of ads are being shown alongside user content, especially if it's annoying or troubling.


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## mayortiffany (May 16, 2020)

FireNinja1 said:


> I'd just create a Contact The Staff thread or something. At the very least, the moderators / admins should be aware of what kind of ads are being shown alongside user content, especially if it's annoying or troubling.



I'd support that. I've seen other forums with similar threads - again, I'm not sure what the moderators/admins _can_ do about inappropriate ads, but if there is a way to screenshot and share these ads with them, they would have more information about what people are seeing on their site.

Inappropriate being both NSFW and big, flashy, coverup the whole page kind of ads.


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## Stephanie92 (May 16, 2020)

I've never seen an ad here. I don't have any ad blocker on?


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## carefree-coconut (May 18, 2020)

(Unintentional post!  Don’t know how to delete posts on here yet...)


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## Seastar (May 18, 2020)

I'm currently getting ads trying to sell me clothing, which is a useless attempt.


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## Millysaurusrexjr (May 18, 2020)

You guys are getting ads?


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## skarmoury (May 18, 2020)

1.) Yes, the ads you see are somewhat based on your search history or the apps you have. I'm not a techy person but I believe that's what "cookies" are for, they store whatever you do on the web so other sites can view your cookies and pull up ads related to them.

2.) You might get ads completely unrelated to you if you don't agree to share your cookies? Either that or maybe the owner of the ads specifically paid the website to showcase their ads, kinda like how TV and radio ads work (since cookies don't exist there). Not sure about this but here's a bit I pulled up from google support:

_"Once you've turned off personalization, Google will no longer use your info to personalize your ads. Ads can still be targeted with info like your general location or the content of the website you’re visiting."_

It's also possible you'll get ads unrelated to you sometimes. I did get one recently.

3.) As for me, I only get ads on TBT mobile. Recently I've only seen three ads, one for some Asian expo (because I live in Asia), one for a local shopping app's big sale (because I have the app downloaded), and one for this trading business (I don't know why I got this because I don't ever come near to business topics, but I reckon from time to time you will see ads unrelated to you). On Youtube, most of the ads I see are related to my location. Local products and stuff.

4.) If you still keep seeing weird ads, you should screenshot it and report it to the staff. Not sure if the staff can control what ads you can and can't see though, but it's probably worth a shot.


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## Kurb (May 18, 2020)

I’ve turned off ad personalization, and i still get the sketchy ones


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## Seastar (May 18, 2020)

Millysaurusrexjr said:


> You guys are getting ads?


I actually only remember seeing the ads on the front page, somewhere to the right. I'm on desktop.


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## Millysaurusrexjr (May 18, 2020)

Jirachi100 said:


> I actually only remember seeing the ads on the front page, somewhere to the right. I'm on desktop.



Oh wow, I can't believe I never noticed that before!! (I'm on desktop too) I got an ad for a car. If only I could afford one


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## Red Cat (May 19, 2020)

I don't remember seeing any really weird ads on this site. Based on a lot of the ads I see here, apparently I'm a business owner and I don't know it yet.


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## dragonair (May 19, 2020)

........til TBT has ads


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## kojuuro (May 19, 2020)

Idk how you guys are seeing ads, but even when I'm on mobile I don't get any??


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## voltairenism (May 19, 2020)

You guys who don't see ads, what is your browser? Mine is opera and it has automatic ad blocker, it's been ages since I last saw an ad


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## dragonair (May 19, 2020)

voltairenism said:


> You guys who don't see ads, what is your browser? Mine is opera and it has automatic ad blocker, it's been ages since I last saw an ad


I don't get them on PC or mobile. I use Google Chrome on my PC and Firefox on my phone.


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## Llunavale (May 19, 2020)

Google Ads are nearly always based on a profile Google has built up of you and you can actually see what they think you're interested in and correct them if they're wrong.

It's pretty useful to see this stuff anyway honestly, helps you keep on top of the kind of data Google have on you. I usually turn it all off because frankly it only stands to benefit Google and make them $$$ off of my data, which they collected for free.

If you have ad personalisation turned off (which plenty of people do - but it's not off by default) then you'll be entered into the wild west of ads, where the most context they have to go off of is the site you're currently browsing, so it makes sense in that case that there'd be an ad based on buying bells on an Animal Crossing forum.

Hey on a side note don't forget you can always see the activity log that Google uses to suggest ads to you and clear it up any time you like!


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## galactickat4240 (May 19, 2020)

The ads I'm seeing on here are related to online shopping or shopping in general, while not Animal Crossing related they aren't unsatisfactory ads.


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## Hanzoisbae (May 19, 2020)

I'm sorry
It's "ad" not "add"
(short for advertisement)


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## Xeleron (May 19, 2020)

That's where I get ads, but I've never seen anything bad, just a bunch of University advertisement or phone service provider ads. 
I use Google Chrome and don't have an ad blocker.


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## Druidsleep (May 19, 2020)

Antonio said:


> Usually ads are cater to you, they aren't usually 100% based on your search. Here's what you may see the ad:
> 
> 
> 
> Does any of the criterias might be why you have the ad @Druidsleep?


The weird thing is no

	Post automatically merged: May 19, 2020



Druidsleep said:


> The weird thing is no





Hanzoisbae said:


> I'm sorry
> It's "ad" not "add"
> (short for advertisement)


Boi


Xeleron said:


> That's where I get ads, but I've never seen anything bad, just a bunch of University advertisement or phone service provider ads.
> I use Google Chrome and don't have an ad blocker.
> 
> View attachment 261336


That's were mine are aswell!


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## xara (May 19, 2020)

this is the first ad i’ve seen,, kinda looks like me lmao


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## SCORPA15 (May 19, 2020)

Welp I've been getting life insurance ads lately.
Hopefully, google has mistaken me for my 91 year old neigbour.


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## Chris (May 19, 2020)

I've seen ads for the company across the road from where I used to work until recently. The curse of working from home during lockdown.


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## sleepydreepy (May 21, 2020)

dude I was about to make a thread like this because......


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## kelpy (May 21, 2020)

i don’t get any ads, oddly enough. i turned my ad blocker off for bell tree (luv u jeremy xoxoxo) on my computer, and turned off fire fox’s automatic tracker blocking and still no ads.
edit: i do get them on mobile! just checked to make sure my content blocker was off and apparently i didn’t turn it off for good lol
so now i have ads on mobile c:


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## biibii (May 25, 2020)

i got an ad with Christ on it saying to “join and be welcomed to salvation”. strange because although i am catholic i had never searched/ spoken about religion to where it may have recommended me such a thing. i think its totally random


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## Gunner (May 25, 2020)

The only adds I ever get here and the only banner adds I usually get elsewhere are for CEX, a British video game store. They're trying to sell me several switch games, namely The Princess Guide and Saints Row The Third (which I do actually want).


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## Franny (May 25, 2020)

i get a heck ton of best buy ads, but that's probably because i bought a monitor from them last week. luckily not much else


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## Taj (May 26, 2020)

This has ironically become my favorite thread to look at


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## Sholee (May 26, 2020)




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## mkyoshi7 (May 27, 2020)

Yeahhh ummm

I don't even know Russian

If someone could translate I'd be interested to know what was trying to be sold to me


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## greenvoldemort (May 27, 2020)

been usin my mobile phone, so i have noticed any ads? is that just me?


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## Velo (May 27, 2020)

mkyoshi7 said:


> View attachment 266147
> 
> Yeahhh ummm
> 
> ...



omfg that is wild I have never seen an ad in a foreign language before!!

So I tried a couple translations and I'm basically getting this:

*Gift photo album of Jerusalem *
*Images of Jerusalem - best photos.*
*Do you care about Jerusalem? 
KKL-JNF provides you the opportunity to get a unique present. *


So ya KKL-JNF wants you to buy some photos of Jerusalem  

Also I've never gotten an ad on here, but uh I may get some Russian ones now after this pffft.


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## Seastar (Jun 16, 2020)

I just came to bump this with a really suspicious ad I just saw. What's going on?


Spoiler


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## Cadbberry (Jun 16, 2020)

Jirachi100 said:


> I just came to bump this with a really suspicious ad I just saw. What's going on?
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> ...


Its probably because you look up Animal Crossing information. Ads are based on what you see and the admins/mods don't pick them I'm afraid. So ads are purposely trying to bait you into clicking with the free game your search history finds you are interested in.


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## Bubbsart (Jun 17, 2020)

Haven’t see any ads yet and I’m on mobile


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## Stella-Io (Jun 17, 2020)

I usually get ads for phone carriers, Amazon products, and one time Disney products cause I was heavily searching websites for a very specific Disney Loungefly bag.

I'm always signed in and I always get ads.


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## Cadycat (Jun 18, 2020)

I dont see any ads and I'm on mobile


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## Mr_Persona (Jun 22, 2020)

Yes many weird adds l saw. Clothes adds, anime, even tho l don't watch anime, random sketchy online shopping websites, mobile games, Progressive, Chase bank, random adds for stuff at home, and yeah and there is more other random adds l see so far.

	Post automatically merged: Jun 22, 2020

I feel like l'm also getting these adds because Google always watching and listening all the time


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## Norwway (Jun 29, 2020)

biibii said:


> i got an ad with Christ on it saying to “join and be welcomed to salvation”. strange because although i am catholic i had never searched/ spoken about religion to where it may have recommended me such a thing. i think its totally random


Lol, i'm catholic too, i searched some thing about religion but the only ads i get are Mercado Livre (a famous brazillian online shop) ads.


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