A majority (54%) of Americans say they are creeped out when they see advertisements that are personalized based on their online behavior, according to a new report from YouGov.
US consumers were the least comfortable with personalized advertising among 17 markets surveyed, with British and French coming in next. Consumers in Hong Kong, India and the United Arab Emirates were the most comfortable with personalized ads.
YouGov’s new report, Ad-verse reactions: How Americans feel about personalized advertising in 2025, also explores the types of online tracking consumers find most invasive and how targeted ads influence product discovery.
Among the report’s findings:
- Discomfort with personalized advertising increases with age. 50% of Gen Zers and Millennials say it makes them uncomfortable, while 62% of Gen X, Baby Boomers and above feel creeped out.
- Ads served based on browsing history are viewed as most invasive, with 59% of Americans calling them out.
- The option to opt out of personalized ads topped the list of factors that would make the majority of US consumers (52%) more comfortable with personalized ads.
- 27% of Americans agree that personalized ads are helpful for discovering new products, with this percentage increasing to 30% for Gen Z and Millennial consumers.
- 44% of Americans have ad blocker running on their web browser or phone to combat ad targeting.
“As personalization grows more sophisticated, so do concerns about privacy, data usage, and the boundaries between helpful recommendations and intrusive targeting,” said Ryan Gmerek, VP at YouGov America. “Many Americans are clearly uncomfortable with the way brands are targeting them today, and this survey should provide a reality check for marketers on how they deploy personalization technology.”
This report sources insights from YouGov’s research panel of 28+ million consumers globally, including YouGov Surveys: Serviced, which provides rapid answers from the right audience and syndicated data from YouGov Profiles.
YouGov’s report is available for download here.
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