If you're someone who scrolls through Instagram on the reg (same), then you've probably seen relevant ads pop up in your feed. It's no secret that Instagram gears its ads toward your specific interests — but have you ever wondered what those interests even are? Apparently, the photo-sharing platform rounded 'em up for you, and you can access them straight from your app. If you're wondering how to find your Ad Interests on Instagram, listen up — it's super easy to do.
The first thing you'll need to do is open your Instagram app and head to your profile. Once you're there, hit the menu button in the upper righthand corner of your screen, and scroll down until you see "Settings." When you see it, click on it — and then, hit "Security." When you're on the Security page, hit "Access Data." When you click on it, you'll see a bunch of options including "Account Info," "Profile Info," "Business Profile Info," and more. (If you see those, you're in the right spot.)
The final thing you'll need to do on that page is scroll down until you see "Ads" (it should be the last option at the bottom of the list). The "Ads" header should say "Ads Interests" underneath it — and underneath that, there should be a button that says "View All." Hit "View All" and then take a look at the Ad Interests that IG deemed fitting for you.
As you can see (if you tried finding your own), all of your Ad Interests should be listed vertically on the page. If you want to see even more of them, hit "View More" at the bottom of your list. The interests keep going and going and going.
If you're confused by your given Ad Interests, you're definitely not alone. In fact, tons of people on Twitter are LOLing at the lists they've been given.
See? If you're cracking up at your Instagram Ad Interests, join the club. While my list does include some off-the-wall topics, it also features categories that I resonate with, such as "Microbreweries," "Guitar Center," and "Michael Scott (The Office)."
All jokes aside, you might be wondering how Instagram gathered the information that led to your Ad Interests, and that's totally valid. Believe it or not, the process is stated right on Instagram's desktop website. As you could probably imagine, the company uses information based off of what you do on platforms like Facebook (IG's parent company), Instagram (of course), apps, and third-party websites. Then, it places in ads that resonate with your interests, per the company.
So, yes, Instagram knows you pretty dang well by now.
If you don't like the ads you've been seeing, there is a way to control that. When you come across a sponsored ad that isn't relevant to you, click on the three dots in the upper righthand corner of the post. Then, hit "Hide Ad" or "Report Ad."
Hopefully, there aren't too many ads popping up on your IG feed that aren't relevant. But if you're curious about why you're getting certain ones, check your Ad Interests and see if those topics are included.
