FAQs about tailored ads and your privacy controls

What are tailored ads?

Tailored ads are Promoted Tweets and Promoted Accounts that we hope will be more interesting and useful for you. We are experimenting with tailoring ads based on information that our ad partners share with us. This helps Twitter display ads about things you’ve already shown interest in and from brands and businesses that you may like.

Where will I see tailored ads?

Tailored ads will be in the same places where Promoted Tweets and Promoted Accounts are displayed. While we experiment with tailored ads, you may not see them if you are outside of the United States. Based on the results of our testing, we will be rolling them out to more users in other countries.

Why are tailored ads better?

With tailored ads, you can see better and more relevant Promoted Tweets and Promoted Accounts on Twitter. For example, you could receive a Promoted Tweet that includes a deal or promotion from a business whose website you frequent or email newsletter you subscribe to. You could also see this business as a Promoted Account in one of your Who to Follow suggestions.

What if I see an ad I don’t like?

If you see an ad you don’t like, you can simply dismiss it. Click the the “Dismiss” button that appears at the bottom of a Promoted Tweet to dismiss it from your timeline. Or click the “x” next to a Promoted Account to remove it from your Who to Follow suggestions. We pay close attention to these dismissals. User interactions provide important feedback as we continue to improve Twitter.

How does Twitter tailor ads for me?

Twitter may tailor ads based on information that our ad partners share with us. This information may be a scrambled, unreadable email address (a hash) or browser-related information (a browser cookie ID). We can then match this information to an account that may receive the tailored ad.

Can I stop my account from being matched to ad partners’ information for tailoring ads?

Yes. We are committed to giving you simple and meaningful privacy options.

Twitter provides a single account setting so that you can turn off tailored ads at any time. Just uncheck the box in your security and privacy settings that says, “Tailor ads based on information shared by ad partners” next to the heading “Promoted content”. This stops Twitter from matching your account to information shared by our ad partners for tailoring ads.

In addition, anyone can turn on the Do Not Track browser setting so that Twitter does not collect browser-related information from ad partners for tailoring ads. Learn more about Twitter’s support for the Do Not Track preference including how to turn it on.

If I uncheck my “Promoted content” setting, am I opting out of all Twitter Ads and all ad customization?

No, you won’t be able to opt out of seeing ads altogether. When you uncheck the “Promoted content” setting, the ads you see may still be customized for you based on what you do on Twitter, including the messages you tweet, the people you follow, and the links you click on Twitter. But your account will not be matched to information shared by our ad partners for tailoring ads, and the ads you see may become less relevant.

Who are Twitter’s ad partners?

Our ad partners may include brands or businesses that advertise on Twitter as well as services that help advertisers deliver their ads. Our ads partners who are helping bring this product to market are: Adara, AdRoll, BlueKai, Chango, DataXu, Dstillery, Lotame, Quantcast, ValueClick, and [x+1]. In addition to your privacy options for tailored ads on Twitter, each of these ad-delivery services offers a way for users to opt out of their services with a single click. For their opt-out pages, please see the links above.

Does Twitter share my information with its ad partners?

Tailored ads do not share personally identifiable information with ad partners. Advertisers will continue to receive the same reports that include how many users saw or clicked on an ad, without identifying who saw it or clicked on it. These reports contain only aggregate, non-personal information. We do not share your private personal information with advertisers without your permission.