Not so private: what the algorithm knows about our sexual and reproductive health

A unique research project is exposing an advertising practice designed to be invisible – targeted ads on our social media feeds.

Dr Giselle Newton from The University of Queensland’s node of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society is leading a study tracking digital advertising for products, services and treatments related to sexual and reproductive health.  

“We think of our sexual and reproductive health data as very personal and private,” Dr Newton said.

“But the social media accounts we follow, the posts we like and the reels we watch – as well as businesses uploading customer information into the Meta ad model – all lead to very targeted digital advertising, which can be problematic.

“Anecdotally, we know women who’ve visited IVF clinics or clicked on IVF ads who have later been bombarded with baby product ads on their feed, which can be very triggering for someone experiencing infertility.

“Similarly, women who’ve been through miscarriage receiving ads for prams or nappies because they’d searched for those items while pregnant.

“I think this goes to show how ads can reflect our most intimate desires and preferences, as well as shape how we feel about our bodies and health”

“And yet because these very personalised ads are ephemeral, they are very hard to monitor or regulate and there’s currently no way to opt out.”

Professor Nicholas Carah, Director of the Centre for Digital Cultures and Societies, said the project relies on participation from citizen scientists.

“We’re asking participants to donate their ads and ad preference data,” Professor Carah said.

“This is the list of preferences or tags Meta associates with you, as well as the list of companies that have specifically uploaded your personal data – like an email address or phone number.

“For example, if you’ve signed up for an account at a bottle shop, they might have uploaded your details into the ad model, so you receive targeted ads.”

Professor Carah said the project also involves a custom-built app.

“The app sits in the background on participants’ phones, and uses machine vision to pick up sponsored content,” he said.

“The screen recording detects ads and uploads them to a secure dashboard that the research team access for analysis.”   

Dr Newton said the research is aimed at increasing visibility of how platforms use targeted ads, as well as people’s experiences and attitudes about it. 

“There are some instances where you might find it useful to be targeted by advertising and have positive experiences with purchasing products you’re being offered,” she said.

“But there should also be some visibility, accountability and regulation of targeted advertising.”

Previous research led by Dr Newton found alcohol and gambling companies use ads on Facebook to target people at risk of harm.

Dr Newton said the current research project includes ads across all areas of sexual and reproductive health.

“It might be ads for lingerie and toys, fertility apps, egg freezing, menstrual products, menopause treatments, dating apps – anything within that broader space,” she said.

People aged 16-44 interested in participating in the research can register here.