[georgemcbay]

> When you use Facebook you get ads for things you aren't looking for.

When you use Facebook you get ads for things you are looking for in a broad sense, they just happen to figure out what you are looking for via fingerprinting and spying on all your web and app activity (to the maximum extent allowed by platforms and regulators).

Google, of course, also does this in addition to looking at your currently active web search.

[m4tthumphrey]

Sure, they retarget ads they think you might want to see, but the difference is when using Google you are actively looking for something, not passively.

[georgemcbay]

Sure but I still don't think there is much meaningful difference.

Google looks at both your current search/browse activity and gathered data (the gathered data being especially important for all the very many Google-served Ads off of google.com)

Facebook also looks at your current search/browse activity and gathered data.

The only real difference is Facebook search is universally entirely worthless so far less of that signal gets used relative to more passive snooping.