Why Does That Math Tutor Follow You Everywhere?
You browse Superprof for five minutes on a Tuesday, looking for someone to help with Calculus II. You don’t book a lesson. You close the tab and move on.
But Superprof doesn’t move on.
By Wednesday, that same tutor’s face is in your Instagram feed. On Thursday, a banner ad for “Chemistry Tutors Near You” pops up while you’re reading a recipe blog. By the weekend, it feels less like advertising and more like digital stalking. You might start wondering if your phone is listening to your conversations or if the website has hacked your camera.
It’s not some sci-fi conspiracy, but it is annoying. This is a common advertising tactic, though it feels especially pushy when it’s about something personal, like finding a tutor.
It’s Not Magic, It’s Remarketing
What you’re seeing is called remarketing (sometimes ‘retargeting’). Here’s how it plays out for a student:
- The Tag: The moment you landed on Superprof’s homepage, a tiny piece of code – a “pixel” or “cookie” – got added to your browser. Think of it like a digital sticky note attached to your back that says, “This person looked at tutors.”
- The Chase: Superprof pays ad networks (like Google Display Network or Meta/Facebook) to look for people wearing that sticky note.
- The Display: When you visit other sites that host ads—whether it’s a news site, YouTube, or social media—the ad network sees the note and instantly serves up the Superprof ad instead of a generic one for laundry detergent.
They’re not actually “watching” you in real-time. They just tagged your browser history, so their automated systems know you checked out their product but haven’t bought it yet.
Why Companies Do This
From a business perspective, this strategy is incredibly effective. Marketing data consistently shows that most users (often over 90%) don’t buy anything on their first visit to a website.
For a platform like Superprof, finding a tutor is a decision that takes time. You might compare prices, check reviews, or wait until your next paycheck. They know you are still a potential customer, so they use remarketing to keep their brand top-of-mind.
The idea is straightforward: Remind you enough times, and you might just give in and book that lesson. While it definitely feels “creepy” to you, the company views it as a gentle nudge – or, in more aggressive campaigns, a push – to get you to complete your purchase.
How to Make the Stalking Stop
If the ads are driving you up the wall, you can stop them. You don’t have to just accept the constant reminders that you need to study for finals.
1. Clear Your Cookies
Since those ads depend on browser cookies, clearing them severs the connection. Head to your browser settings (Chrome, Safari, Firefox) and clear your cache and cookies. You’ll need to log back into your usual websites, but the ads should disappear.
2. Use “Incognito” or “Private” Windows
When you research tutors in the future, do it in an Incognito window. These windows delete all cookies the moment you close them. Superprof can’t follow you back to your regular social media feed if the browser forgets the session ever happened.
3. Change Ad Preferences
On platforms like Facebook or Instagram, click the three dots on an ad’s corner and choose “Why am I seeing this?” or “Hide ad.” You can usually tell the platform you’re not interested in “Education” or “Tutoring” ads specifically.
4. Install an Ad Blocker
Extensions like uBlock Origin prevent these tracking scripts from loading in the first place. If the tracker can’t tag you, the ads can’t follow you.
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