About Interest Based Content

We understand that some people have more understanding of interest based content than others. This website has been put together in the hope that it will be understandable to people at all levels.

Put simply, interest based content is a practice that is based on internet browsing activity and allows web sites to deliver content that reflect their interests.

What is Interest Based Content?

Interest based content is a way of showing you content on the websites you visit and making them more relevant to you and your interests. Shared interests are grouped together based upon previous web browsing activity and web users are then shown content which matches their shared interests. In this way, content can be made as relevant and useful as possible.

How does it work?

Imagine you are planning a holiday to London. You visit a website about London and view articles about places to stay and visit. On a future visit online, while reading an article about your favourite rugby team, you see content about hotels in London or an offer for transport in London. You receive this special content because you, and other people like you, have shown an interest in London. This can enhance your web experience by making the most of the technology only available on the internet – helping reduce the content that isn't interesting to you.

As interest based content is based on past browsing activity, interest based content differs from other forms of online content such as contextual advertising, although understanding the context of the content you view at that specific time is important to deliver interest based content to you. Contextual advertising is based on the web page you are looking at, at that particular moment.

How is my privacy protected?

All providers of interest based content have to comply with UK laws. In most cases, the information used for delivering content is not personal, in that it does not identify you – the user – in the real world. Data about your browsing activity is collected and analysed anonymously. If this analysis infers a particular interest, a cookie – a small file used by most websites to store useful bits of information to make your use of the internet better – is placed in your computer and this cookie (not your browsing data) determines what content you receive. Where personally identifiable information (like registration data) is used, you will have been told about it in the website’s privacy policy when you registered for a particular service. You always have a choice as to whether to benefit from more relevant content or not and where personally identifiable information is used, you will have given your consent.

You can control which cookies you accept or refuse. The company collecting and using the data will also have a way for you to decline interest based content. Web sites that use interest based content allow you to opt out.

I have more questions

We hope the detailed overview about interest based content will help explain but if not please feel free to contact us