Kill your ad IDs

Reset checklist

Google

• Turn personalized ads off in My Ad Center. The single most effective click on this page.

  Turn off now

• Pause or auto-delete Web & App Activity and YouTube History. Set auto-delete to 3 months if you don't want to pause entirely.

  Activity controls · My Activity

• In Chrome, open chrome://settings/adPrivacy and switch off Ad topics, Site-suggested ads and Ad measurement. Copy the address; browsers don't allow links to settings pages.

  Copy address

Android

• Settings → Security & privacy → Privacy → Ads → Delete advertising ID. On older versions: Settings → Google → Ads. Deleting (not just resetting) gives apps a string of zeros.

iPhone, iPad & Mac

• Settings → Privacy & Security → Tracking → turn off Allow Apps to Request to Track. Apps now get a zeroed-out IDFA automatically.
• Settings → Privacy & Security → Apple Advertising → turn off Personalized Ads.
• On Mac: System Settings → Privacy & Security → Apple Advertising → turn off Personalized Ads.

Windows

• Settings → Privacy & security → General → turn off Let apps show me personalized ads by using my advertising ID.
• Turn off personalized ads on your Microsoft account. Covers Bing, MSN, Outlook and Xbox.

  Microsoft ad settings

Platforms & the ad industry

• Meta (Facebook & Instagram): review ad topics and turn off Activity information from ad partners.

  Meta ad preferences

• Amazon: choose Do not show me interest-based ads provided by Amazon.

  Amazon advertising preferences

• X (Twitter): Settings → Privacy and safety → Ads preferences → turn off personalized ads.
• Run the industry opt-outs in each browser you use. They work with cookies, so redo them after clearing cookies.

  DAA WebChoices (US) · NAI opt-out · Your Online Choices (EU)

• Turn on Global Privacy Control: a legally recognized "do not sell" signal in several US states. Built into Firefox (Settings → Privacy), Brave and DuckDuckGo; available as an extension elsewhere.

  About GPC

• On your smart TV, turn off ACR / Viewing information / Live Plus and interest-based ads. The menu name differs by brand: look under Privacy or Terms & Policies.

Verify

• Check how trackable your browser still is. Fingerprinting works without cookies or IDs.

  EFF Cover Your Tracks · AmIUnique

Why delete instead of reset? A reset gives you a fresh ID, and new tracking starts immediately. Deleting (Android 12+) or blocking tracking requests (iOS) hands apps a meaningless all-zero ID, so there's nothing new to profile. Further reading: Pixel Defence's guide and NordVPN's walkthrough.