TikTok offers personalised ads. These adverts are placed from information TikTok has sourced from you. Your interests, location, and age will all play a factor in the types of ads you see.
Brands purchase adverts on TikTok, so they can spread their company further and reach a wider audience. These ads will use TikTok’s stored data to find the relevant accounts to pitch to. What you see will largely depend on where you’re based and what your interests are. By allowing adverts on their platform, TikTok are able to keep their platform free.
After all, nothing comes for free and TikTok need to earn money to keep things running. This is why ad revenue is so important. When an advert is displayed, it will say Sponsored or Ad within the video. This is to inform any viewers that the content they’re seeing has been paid for, hence why it is being displayed. If the ad appears inappropriate, you can report it.
When you set up your TikTok account, the platform will take information you input. This information will then be used going forward to suggest adverts related to you. Any interaction with similar adverts will be noted, and you may see more like them in the future. You won’t see adverts for countries outside your own, unless you spend a significant amount of time there.
If that’s the case, your advert selection will change based upon your current location. Another factor included is your age and gender. How you identify when setting up your account will be kept to help promote adverts. For example, you won’t see over 65 life cover if you’re under that age. Both your in-app and out of app activity is typically collected.
Websites you search for and companies you interact with off the TikTok app will be stored and used within in-app advertising. This information allows TikTok to target the right people with the correct ads. The same goes for in-app searches. If you’re someone who always searches for holiday destinations, you’ll likely see ads from holiday companies.
How to manage the adverts you see on TikTok
If you don’t currently see personalised ads, but you’d like to, or if you see personalised adverts but want to turn them off, here’s how:
- Head to your Profile.
- Click on the Menu button at the top.
- Choose Settings and privacy.
- Click Ads and then Ads personalisation.
- Turn Personalised ads on or off.
You don’t have to have TikTok adverts personalised to you. In fact, you can have them just as generic adverts selected by the platform almost at random. The reason they have the option for personalised ads is because if you’re going to see adverts, it makes more sense for you to see ones relevant to you. Also, it likely increases the companies sales by marketing to their target audience.
