> If you purchase something from a location based ad, the advertiser is going to have your billing and shipping information, so that's just splitting hairs at this point.
Emphasis is on "recent searches", not on the location.
> They can can only target by keywords, so your theory of leaky data doesn't apply there either
Yes, you are more right here (and here only). If ads are only shown when you are actively searching for their keywords, then whether there is a leak is questionable. But an advertiser could still trick one to reveal information, like in a phishing attack, by using keywords unrelated to the ad.
> That's also the second time you've moved the goal posts as you've learned more about how online advertising works.
Thanks for educating me, but my argument still stands. In fact that second time, I placed the goal post back at its original place, since apparently, Google's ad controls do not allow one to turn off ads based on recent searches.
Emphasis is on "recent searches", not on the location.
> They can can only target by keywords, so your theory of leaky data doesn't apply there either
Yes, you are more right here (and here only). If ads are only shown when you are actively searching for their keywords, then whether there is a leak is questionable. But an advertiser could still trick one to reveal information, like in a phishing attack, by using keywords unrelated to the ad.
> That's also the second time you've moved the goal posts as you've learned more about how online advertising works.
Thanks for educating me, but my argument still stands. In fact that second time, I placed the goal post back at its original place, since apparently, Google's ad controls do not allow one to turn off ads based on recent searches.