LinkedIn Joins Facebook In “Personalized” Ad Push; Here’s How To Opt-Out

To some of you, this may be old news. After all, LinkedIn announced the change via a blog post last month. But I learned about it today on GooglePlus.

First, there were announced changes in the LinkedIn privacy policy in June. (Missed those, too.)

Then last month, under the familiar guise of “deliver[ing] ads that are more useful and relevant to you,” LinkedIn opted-you-in to agreeing to let the company use your name and photo in social advertising.

How many times do we have to tell the marketing folks (I so want to call them droids, but it’s probably their bosses – senior veeps – who are pushing this stuff) that OPT-OUT IS A BAD BUSINESS PRACTICE.

It doesn’t matter whether the company is forcing us to opt-out from getting emails or, worse, having to opt-out from giving product endorsements.

Opt out is bad business and if companies continue down this track we’ll have no choice but to turn to Congress for remedy. (Yeah, I know, good luck with that given entrenched monied interests.)

The other “new’ business (again, out-out) is something LinkedIn is calling “enhanced” advertising. I really have no idea what this is, and it’s not explained in the roll-out blog post.

On Thursday, “LinkedIn said it will change the program so that ads no longer display peoples’ photographs.

But the screenshot you see (above) is from today, Friday 12 August. So they haven’t yet changed the interface. Or the privacy statement.

Here’s the LinkedIn blog on yesterday’s course change:

How To Find The “Off” Button

(1) LinkedIn Settings

Log in to LinkedIn and go to your settings (the “settings” drop down under your name, upper right). You’ll see “Privacy Controls” on this page but the controls you want are not listed, because the landing page is “Profile.” We want “Account.”

(2) LinkedIn Account Settings v Profile Settings

Click “Account” in the lower left (it doesn’t look like a button). Now you’ll see more “Privacy Controls” (insert rolling eyes here – horrible UI/UX). The two are “Manage Social Advertising” (that’s permission to use your info) and “Enhanced Advertising” (advertising delivered on site with cookies that can follow you OFF site).

(3) Click “Manage Social Advertising”

This is the “permission to use your personal info.” You probably want to deselect that tick box.

(4) Click “Turn on/off enhanced advertising”

Do you want to see enhanced ads while you are on LinkedIn or, more importantly, OFF LinkedIn? In other words, are you OK with cookies following you off-site? If the answer to either is no, de-select the tick box.

From LinkedIn’s change in privacy from June (emphasis added)

• We also clarified that LinkedIn’s enhanced advertising may deliver LinkedIn or third party ads to you on and off LinkedIn

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