You’ve undoubtedly seen numerous instances when you were just surfing the internet or watching YouTube when you were stopped by a strangely targeted advertisement. An advertisement announcing the opening of a new store or restaurant in your city. This is not a coincidence, since these advertisements are the product of extensive geo-targeting by advertising firms and websites seeking to maximize revenues by directly targeting customers.
So, what exactly is geotargeting and how does it work? Equally important, is it a violation of your privacy or just an annoyance? Finally, how can you prevent geotargeting? We’ll address all of these points and more in this article.
What is geo-targeting?
In its simplest form, geo-targeting is a marketing technique that focuses on providing unique and customized information to each customer depending on their actual location. It’s a very successful approach for small companies such as restaurants, retail establishments, and other services. This raises another issue: how does geotargeting work?
How is geo-targeting performed?
Geotargeting’s fundamental concept is very straightforward. To begin with, geo-targeting attempts to determine your geographic location and to narrow it down as much as possible. This can be accomplished via the use of your IP address, GPS location, or cell towers. Following that, the service’s app or software analyzes this data to get the most accurate information possible depending on your location.
Digging out your real IP address through these techniques may seem frightening and underhanded, but it is not quite as frightening as it sounds. This is because the majority of geo-targeting systems require you to opt-in. In other words, you must provide the delivery service at your location. However, once you do this, you will be inundated with tailored advertisements depending on the location you previously provided.
What is the distinction between geotargeting and geofencing?
Geofencing is another word that is often used interchangeably with geotargeting. However, it is a distinct kind of advertising. Geo-targeting is a technique that focuses on your behaviors and behavior patterns. It is often directed towards a broader group of people than individual users.
Geofencing, on the other hand, is mainly targeted at smaller groups. And, as the name implies, it creates a virtual barrier around a certain place. Thus, geofencing is used to identify all devices inside a certain region. It’s especially advantageous in big arenas, retail malls, and meeting areas.
Is geo-targeting an invasion of privacy?
No, geo-targeting is not unlawful from a legal standpoint. This is because the user must have enabled location services or have opted in when asked. The potential problem with this approach arises if businesses that have your consent share your information with unaffiliated companies. Regrettably, there is no way to limit it at the moment, short of completely forsaking location-based services.
When it comes to this subject, it’s mostly a matter of convenience versus privacy. If you value the ease and benefits that customized advertising provides, it’s worthwhile to investigate this option. On the other hand, if you believe that these services are invading your privacy, you should avoid them. Fortunately, if you believe the latter, there is a method to disable geo-targeting.
How can geo-targeting be avoided?
Now that we’ve demonstrated that geo-targeting is a perfectly legal and reasonable technique for many companies’ internet platforms, what if you’re uncomfortable with the experience and want to avoid it entirely? This is perfectly reasonable, and fortunately, there is a simple method to do this.
The most efficient method of circumventing geo-targeting is to make use of a VPN service. A VPN enables you to replace your local IP address with the address of a remote server located anywhere on the globe. This essentially disables IP tracking since trackers will direct their attention to your new IP address.
Naturally, to ensure that your business runs well and that you are not continually confronted with geotargeting problems, you must use a reputable VPN. More significantly, the VPN service should be capable of quickly connecting to and sustaining connections to any distant location.
This benefit, along with a slew of other handy features, is available with NordVPN. Apart from circumventing geo-targeting, you’ll have full privacy and anonymity while accessing your favorite streaming sites or torrents. Join NordVPN now and enjoy all of the benefits that a high-quality VPN has to offer.