Reddit removes option to opt out of ad personalization based on platform activity

Reddit announced on Wednesday a couple of changes to the platform’s ads, location, and privacy settings. The company said it is condensing ad settings, providing the ability to limit ads from particular categories, and improving preference descriptions for clarity.

As part of the changes, Reddit is removing the ability to opt out of ad personalization based on Reddit activity and account info. “The aim is to simplify our privacy descriptions, improve ad performance, and offer new controls for the types of ads you prefer not to see,” the company said.

“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,” the platform said. 

Reddit said it will still have opt-out controls in select locations but did not disclosed the countries. “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 company said.

Reddit is also combining two toggles that allow users to see advertising based on activity and data from partners into one toggle. There is no method to distinguish between those two options at this time. “We are cleaning this up and combining into one: “Improve ads based on your online activity and information from our partners,” the social network said. 

Toggles for receiving post recommendations based on “general location” and activity on partner sites and apps appear to be being removed by Reddit. There is no mechanism to disable these parameters, so it’s unclear whether this means that post suggestions will always utilize them.

Reddit announced that it will also provide settings to restrict some ad types, including those for parenting, dating, weight loss, and alcohol. “We are adding the ability to see fewer ads from specific categories—Alcohol, Dating, Gambling, Pregnancy & Parenting, and Weight Loss—which will live in the Safety & Privacy section of your User Settings. “Fewer” because we’re utilizing a combination of manual tagging and machine learning to classify the ads, which won’t be 100% successful to start. But, we expect our accuracy to improve over time,” the company said. 

At the beginning of this month, Reddit announced a slew of refinements to its Contextual Keyword Targeting system, aiming to empower advertisers to connect more effectively with their desider audiences.