Ads are getting very spammy again

Dial Hard

Couldn't find the old thread about dodgy ads, sorry, but they're definitely getting very spammy/scammy again. At the moment I'm seeing German language ads for a a 30-day Military style fitness training programme with a very obviously AI-generated "model" in the picture, more German ads for intermittent fasting, and ads in Arabic for god knows what. I know the ads are generated and hosted by a 3rd party, but I can't understand what algorithm they're using that they think these are in any way relevant to mostly Ireland-based users of an Irish discussion site.

Boards.ie: Mike

Could you share a picture of these? Maybe even hovering over the ad might share a link to url? This is a great way to narrow down the ads in questions so there can be a block put on them by the 3rd party hoster.

Thanks, Mike.

Dial Hard

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122938963#Comment_122938963

I can't hover the cursor over them as I'm on mobile. Today's selection is German AI man again, some Spanish intermittent fasting for a change, Spanish Walmart and some incredibly clickbait-y insurance nonsense.

Dial Hard

Guatemalan Walmart, actually.

Boards.ie: Mike

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122939198#Comment_122939198

Thanks for sharing all of that. I will flag this and get it resolved. Cheers.

Dial Hard

Oh, and here's the Arabic one:

Hotblack Desiato

that's not Arabic, I think it's Hindi

Vexorg

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122939480#Comment_122939480

Have you or someone using your device been using/tried using a VPN to sign to cheaper subscriptions? for example Youtube premium , spotify etc?. if so google may be using some of those locations to deliver what it thinks are ads relevant to your VPN locations.

Dial Hard

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122940128#Comment_122940128

Definitely not, the only VPN I use is my work one and I don't use that for anything entertainment-related (apart from Boards, obvs 👀).

Boards.ie: Mike

Hi guys,

I have spoken with the 3rd party ad hoster Snigel. They had added some extra categories and url's to the block list for us. Below is just a little explanation from Snigel on using VPNs it may provide some insight on why these ads are being served as they are:

"However, these users getting ads in different languages might have to do with using a VPN for work  (if this is the same device, of course). Some of the 3rd party delivery systems and identity providers might've been building the wrong profile for requests made through that device, so now they are seeing ads in all sorts of languages. Additionally, if users are using incognito or have blocked 3rd party cookies on their device, these lower-quality ads will sneak through the filters regardless, because there is just not enough information available in the ad request for the advertisers to spend their budget on that specific user. I hope that makes sense."

Thanks again for the screengrabs and posts to this thread.

Best, Mike.

Dial Hard

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122942579#Comment_122942579

Thanks Mike. It's definitely not a VPN issue for me as I only use that on my work laptop and these were all coming through on mobile. And happening regardless of what network I was using - home, mobile data, parents' house wifi, etc.

thesandeman

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122939214#Comment_122939214

That's better. I was visualising the size of that box of corn flakes in my head 😲.

Dial Hard

Spammy ads are back.

Jim Herring

Have you tried using DuckDuckGo browser - it has good ad blocking tech built in, no VPN needed.

Wanderer78

ublock is probably blocking this for me, might be worth a try….

Dial Hard

And again...