Social news aggregation site Reddit is set to remove the ability of some users to opt-out of ad personalisation.
The news comes as part of recently released series of settings updates that are due to be rolled out over the coming weeks, although users in as-yet unspecified countries will still be able to opt-out of personalisation.
As part of these updates, the site’s users will also be able to choose specific advertising categories for which they do not wish to see content, such as alcohol, dating, gambling, pregnancy, parenting and weight loss.
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In a statement, Reddit head of privacy Jutta Williams said that the changes would “require very little personal information” from users, and that the feature will help “better predict which ad may be most relevant to you”.
She added: “To clarify, this update does not change the way we collect or share data. This data informs how we target ads on our platform. We do not share your information or activity with third parties for advertising outside Reddit. To learn more, visit our Help Centre and Privacy Policy.”
There has been speculation that EU member states may be among those spared this latest feature, as it would contravene GDPR regulations, which state that businesses must seek consent from users before collecting data.
