Reddit will force ad personalization based on your activity, and you can't opt out

Reddit has been making major changes to the platform. It was only recently that the site announced a contributor program, which lets you convert your Reddit gold and karma into fiat currency. And now it is back with some changes to ad personalization and privacy preferences.

Among the various changes the site has announced, the most notable one is Reddit "removing the ability to opt out of ad personalization based on your Reddit activity." In simpler terms, Reddit no longer allows you to decide not to see ads that are tailored to your actions on the site.

Reddit's head of privacy conveys in the announcement that this change is actually beneficial.

Reddit requires very little personal information, and we like it that way. Our advertisers instead rely on on-platform activity—what communities you join, leave, upvotes, downvotes, and other signals—to get an idea of what you might be interested in.

The vast majority of redditors will see no change to their ads on Reddit. For users who previously opted out of personalization based on Reddit activity, this change will not result in seeing more ads or sharing on-platform activity with advertisers. It does enable our models to better predict which ad may be most relevant to you.

Reddit mentions that this change will not roll out to users “in select countries". The company has not listed which countries are exceptions, but it is possible that EU nations are among them, as the change may violate the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

In addition, Reddit has updated the descriptions of the privacy settings to make them more “clear and consistent across platforms”. You are also given ability to opt out of specific ad categories, such as Alcohol, Dating, Gambling, Pregnancy and Parenting, and Weight Loss. The company has also consolidated location customization settings.

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