With TikTok's 'About this ad' tool, users can understand how their ads are targeted and tailor future ads. Social media users ask for transparency, and TikTok is no exception. TikTok is free, but ads bring the developers revenue. Still, people don't want to feel manipulated to buy products they wouldn't consider. Therefore, TikTok's efforts to protect its users' private information are not unnoticed.
TikTok, a short-form video platform, was launched worldwide in 2017. With billions of downloads in a few years, the app has become a prime location for marketers to reach customers. However, up until 2021, personalized ads were optional on TikTok, and users could choose whether or not the ads were based on their viewing activity. The change allowed advertisers to target more specifically, but users had no way to opt-out of the new system. However, users could still opt out of cross-app tracking on iOS.
To find out what user information TikTok uses to generate an ad on the 'For You' page, tap the 'Share' icon when a featured post appears on the screen. 'About this ad' will appear in the options. When chosen, the app will reveal the user's age, location, device type and other information on which the ad may depend. 'About this ad' could be helpful if the user wants TikTok to have less data, or maybe the presented ads don't give any value to the person. The user can choose 'how TikTok ads work' to learn more about additional data TikTok may have collected and used.
Personalizing Ads Generate Desired Results
For a higher-level experience, TikTok users can also personalize their ad preferences. While on 'About this ad,' navigate to 'Change your ad personalization settings' at the bottom. On the following display, choose 'How your ads are personalized.' This tool will allow the TikTok user to change the information on the listed options, such as gender and interests. Users can also turn off particular categories that do not appeal to them. TikTok notes that these changes may take up to 48 hours before taking effect, but the hope is that the user will have more relevant ads shown on their FYP.
TikTok has stated that more 'About this ad' options will become available in the future. In addition to introducing information about advertisers behind ads, TikTok plans to give users more control over their ad personalization. Users can make these changes at any time and continue to update their preferences as new options are released. While TikTok has room to enhance privacy and transparency features, it's a welcome improvement.
Sources: TikTok