The split is not about advertising in general but about the tracking behind it. YouGov's 2025 US report found 56% uncomfortable with companies using their online behaviour to personalise ads against 18% comfortable, and when people were asked which kinds of personalisation feel most invasive, ads built from browsing history came top at 59%, followed by ads built from social media behaviour at 48%. Purchasing history, location and retargeting all rank lower, which suggests the objection is to being followed rather than to being sold to. Age matters: 62% of Gen X and Baby Boomers were uncomfortable against 50% of Gen Z and Millennials. And a real minority likes the result - 27% agreed personalised advertising is helpful for discovering new products, against 40% who disagreed. What people say would settle them is control rather than abolition: 52% chose 'options to opt out' and 35% 'minimal data collection' as the things that would make them more comfortable with personalised ads.