Which statement best describes targeted advertising?

• A. Ads are shown based on programs that infer your interests
• B. Ads are displayed randomly without consideration of user
• C. Ads are shown only on paid platforms
• D. Ads only appear on search engines

Answer: (A)

Targeted advertising rests on using data about a person’s interests and behavior to tailor ads. Programs and algorithms analyze what you do online—sites you visit, searches you run, and other signals—to infer your preferences, then decide which ads to show to you. That means ads appear because the system believes they’re relevant to you, not by chance. This approach isn’t limited to paid platforms, and it isn’t restricted to search engines—you’ll see targeted ads across many sites and apps that participate in ad networks. The other descriptions describe randomness, or restrictions to paid platforms or to search engines, which don’t capture how targeted advertising works in practice.