There are a few potential reasons why your husband may be getting targeted ads for dating sites that are worth exploring:
He has visited dating sites before
Many online advertising platforms like Google and Facebook track users’ browsing history across devices in order to serve relevant ads. If your husband has visited dating sites in the past, even just out of curiosity, the advertising networks likely logged that activity and now assume he is potentially interested in dating services.
Ad networks often use retargeting to continue showing ads related to sites a user has previously visited. So if your husband checked out a dating site on his work computer once, he may now find ads for similar sites following him around the web or popping up in apps on his phone or tablet.
His online behavior matches a dating site user profile
Ad platforms build detailed profiles of users based on their browsing habits, demographics, stated interests and more. It’s possible your husband’s general online behavior – the sites he visits, articles he reads, searches he conducts – matches common patterns seen from users of dating sites.
So even if he has never actually visited a dating site, the ad platforms may have determined based on other signals that he fits the profile of someone in the market for online dating. This profile is then used to serve relevant ads.
His relationship status changed on social media
If your husband’s relationship status on social media sites like Facebook has changed from “married” to “single” or “divorced”, that is a signal to ad platforms that he may be interested in dating again. Platforms like Facebook are constantly tracking users’ relationship statuses and many ad campaigns specifically target single people.
So a change in your husband’s reported relationship status could open the floodgates to more dating service ads, even if he has not actually visited those sites.
He is being retargeted from a data breach
There have been many high-profile data breaches from dating sites over the years. User account details from sites like AshleyMadison and AdultFriendFinder have been stolen and leaked online.
It’s possible your husband’s email address or other identifier got caught up in one of these breaches. Ad platforms that obtained the leaked data may now be retargeting those users with dating site ads, even if your husband never actually signed up for the breached service.
Shared devices are muddying the signal
Does your husband share any devices with others, like a shared family computer or tablet? It’s possible another user was browsing dating sites on a shared device, and now those signals are being misattributed to your husband’s user profile across his other devices.
Ad platforms rely heavily on device tracking to build user profiles. So activity on a shared device can distort the profile for each individual user who logs into it, resulting in inappropriate or irrelevant ads.
He was doing research or checking for a friend
There are certainly some innocent reasons your husband may have visited a dating site that you are not aware of. Perhaps he was doing market research for work, testing a dating site on behalf of a friend who is single, or looking for evidence of infidelity on someone else’s behalf.
Even if these were one-time visits not motivated by personal interest, ad platforms are not able to discern intent. Any visit to a dating site can be enough to serve related ads in the future.
It’s just incorrect data or personalized ads gone awry
In some cases, the platforms that serve personalized ads simply get it wrong. Incorrect data or faulty predictions may result in ads that are irrelevant for a certain user. Browsing patterns, relationship status and other signals used for ad targeting may change over time or be misinterpreted.
So it’s possible your husband is receiving ads meant for someone else entirely or based on outdated assumptions about his interests. Ad targeting involves a lot of nuance and guesswork, and is never 100% accurate for every user.
He clicked on an ad accidentally
It’s easy to click on or engage with an online ad accidentally, perhaps while trying to dismiss or close it. Even a single errant click is enough for ad platforms to assume a user is interested in a product and serve more related ads.
If your husband inadvertently clicked on a dating site ad recently – without actually visiting the site – that simple action could prompt more such ads in the future.
How to stop seeing these ads
If bothersome or inappropriate ads are appearing, there are steps your husband can take to minimize them:
- Clear cookies/browsing history – This resets the ad profile associated with a device
- Opt out of personalized ads – Most ad platforms allow you to disable targeted ads
- Use private browsing – Prevents tracking that facilitates personalized ads
- Add blockers – Blocks many types of display ads
- Change relationship status – Remove any outdated relationship details on social media
- Monitor notifications – Review permissions and notifications from ad platforms
With vigilance and some tweaks to settings, your husband should be able to reduce or eliminate the appearance of unwanted personalized ads.
When to be concerned
There are some circumstances where your husband receiving ads for dating sites could potentially be more concerning:
- He refuses to take steps to stop the ads
- His browsing history shows actual visits to dating sites
- The ads reference specific dating sites known for facilitating affairs
- His social media relationship status changed without your knowledge
- He displays other secretive behavior with devices/accounts
While there are reasonable explanations for these types of ads, any situation that also involves dishonesty, secrecy or unexplained changes in behavior warrants a deeper discussion about what may be going on.
Open and honest communication is key here. If you approach the situation calmly and without accusation, you are more likely to get clarity. Jumping to conclusions or putting your husband on the defensive right away may obscure the real issue. Give him a chance to explain himself before deciding what this all means.
Conclusion
Online ads do not always accurately reflect our true interests or intentions. However, recurring dating site ads your husband is receiving likely signal some type of online activity or change that the ad platforms have detected. This deserves an open conversation to determine the source and meaning behind it. With a few reasonable precautions, your husband should be able to correct this issue and stop the irrelevant ads in the future.