Does any of you know firsthand how the ad industry works? I hate them with all my heart and I already go out of my way to block them but maybe you have been on the other side of the fence and can share some internal insight on what to focus on to really disrupt the data collection. I.e. even if I use uBlock can the ad network still build a profile? Is the benefit only cosmetic on my end? I also run a local AdGuard instance on my network
The benefit is generally only cosmetic at your end.
As backwards as it sounds, the more you do to try to “anonymize” yourself on the internet, the more you actually stand out… because so few people go out of their way to use anonymization tools, which are easily spotted.
So what happens is your profile goes into the “People Who Like Privacy” bucket, and you get ads related to the fact that you want privacy.
They may not be able to create a profile on “you” speficially with your name, address, email, et cetera, but they will be able to create a general profile for “you” about your preferences, web browser, screen size, geolocation, et cetera.
