What is online tracking and advertising?

Online advertising helps to fund content we all see online. If you consent to it, online services can collect information about what you do online and use it to show you personalised adverts. This generates income for them, as well as for the wider network of advertising technology companies acting behind the scenes to make it all work. This helps to keep much of the content we see online free.

Sometimes being tracked online can be helpful for you. For example, you might prefer to see ads personalised to your interests, rather than generic ones.

However, harm can occur when you consent to sharing information without knowing exactly what you’re handing over or how it might be used. For example, someone struggling with a gambling addiction or eating disorder might be targeted with unwanted ads.

What is a cookie banner?

A cookie is a small file of letters and numbers that is downloaded on to your device when you visit a website. Cookies are used by many websites to collect information about you and can do a number of things, e.g. remembering your preferences, recording what you have put in your shopping basket, and counting the number of people looking at a website.

Under data protection law, organisations need your consent to deploy non-essential cookies.

Organisations therefore often use consent management systems such as pop-up boxes and cookie banners to gain your consent. Cookie banners usually pop up straight away when you use a website or other online service, give you information about what non-essential cookies are used (including for advertising), and ask for your consent about whether they can be deployed.

Organisations may present you with different options and ask you to provide your consent to each of them. This could be with the options to ‘reject all’, ‘accept all’ or manage each option individually, for example by switching a toggle on or off.

What can I do to control my information?

You have the right to reject all non-essential cookies. If you want to limit how much you share or review how much you’re already sharing, here are some steps you can take:

  • Read through the options you’re presented with, whether that’s on a cookie banner or in the settings. Organisations have to provide clear and comprehensive information about the way they use cookies. If you’re happy to be shown personalised adverts you can keep this setting on or press ‘accept’. If you don’t want adverts to be personalised to you, you can reject this. You’ll still be shown adverts, they just won’t be based on your interests.
  • Review your preferences in the privacy settings of your device. Each device may have different functions within the settings, so visit the manufacturer’s website if you’re unsure.
  • Review the settings on your internet browser. You can manage, block and delete cookies within your browser’s privacy settings.
  • If there is a ‘do not track’ setting on your browser, you can use this.