Gener8 Ads – Is it worth it?
I’ve been making extra money online since 2008 when both myself and my husband were made redundant just before Christmas. At the time we had a two-year-old and I was pregnant with our daughter, and things got very difficult very quickly. Since then, I’ve worked hard to make sure we have multiple income streams. I now work full-time as a blogger but also do lots of other things to bring in more money each week too. Some of these don’t bring in much, but they all add up. Gener8 Ads isn’t a huge money spinner by any stretch of the imagination, so is it worth your time?
[lwptoc]What is Gener8 Ads?
Gener8 is a browser and browser extension that enables people to earn rewards by sharing their data.
You may have seen Gener8 appearing on Dragon’s Den on the BBC. In the episode, we saw Sam Jones from Gener8 ask for £60,000 from the dragons. Four of the five dragons made an offer with Peter Jones, Touker Suleyman, Tej Lalvani and Deborah Meaden all wanting to invest in the business. Only Sara Davies declined purely because this isn’t her area of expertise. Sam asked if Peter Jones and Touker Suleyman would be prepared to work together and made a deal for at £30,000 investment from each of the two dragons in return for a 5% share in the business.
How do I use Gener8 Ads?
There are a few different ways you can use Gener8, you can opt to use their browser, or install their browser extension on either Chrome or Firefox. Their ethos is that if your data is going to be used by companies, then you should get rewarded for it.
Once you’ve set up your account, you’ll need to decide whether to use Gener8 Rewards Mode or Gener8 Privacy Mode.
Gener8 Rewards Mode
If you choose Gener8 Rewards Mode, you will be rewarded with points which you can use to spend on Gener8 Rewards. You will be able to start earning points once you’ve used the Gener8 Extension for five consecutive days.
In Rewards Mode, Gener8 block thousands of third parties from tracking your internet usage, and they collect your data anonymously so nothing can be traced back to you as an individual.
Gener8 Privacy Mode
If you choose Gener8 Privacy Mode, Gener8 will prevent third parties and advertisers from tracking your online activity. You won’t earn any points though whilst you’re in Privacy Mode.
How can I earn Gener8 points more quickly?
There are a few things you can do to boost your points and get your rewards balance up.
- Make sure you have completed your preferences in your account – this will boost your balance by 10 points.
- Refer your friends. See below for details on how to do that.
- Share Gener8 on social media using the hashtag #Gener8 or tagging @Gener8Ads. Your first social share will earn you some extra points.
Is there a Gener8 app?
There is a Gener8 app available on both Android and iOS, so you can earn points by browsing on your mobile phone too.
Is Gener8 Ads a scam?
Gener8 isn’t a scam, but it isn’t a way to earn money quickly either. If you’re happy to see ads when you’re browsing online, then you may as well earn a little extra from them, so it’s worth doing.
It’s always important to keep yourself safe when you’re online so make sure you have anti-virus software on your devices. Even though Gener8 seems perfectly secure and safe to use, downloading anything does come with risks.
How do Gener8 make money?
Like any advertising company, Gener8 earn their money by displaying adverts on your screen. When you first sign up, you will complete your profile which asks you to share your interests. Gener8 will then use this information to display adverts from brands that fit in with your interests. These brands then pay Gener8 to display their adverts. They take a percentage of this fee and pass the rest on to us.
The Pros
The most obvious pro is that when you use Gener8 you are rewarded for something you do every day without thinking about it. Just by being online and seeing adverts, you will be earning points.
You can redeem your points for lots of different things, so you’re not limited to just one option.
The Cons
There are a few downsides.
First of all, having multiple extensions on your browser can slow things down a little. If you only have a few extensions, then you’re unlikely to notice this, but I have quite a few that I use for blogging and I’m a little wary of downloading many more. Waiting for adverts to load can also slow down the loading speed of websites which can be really frustrating when you’re browsing the internet.
Secondly, I have seen a few reports that redeeming points can be a little difficult. I haven’t hit any stumbling blocks myself, but I imagine it must be frustrating to have finally earned enough points to redeem them but then hit problems.
How to redeem Gener8 points
Once you’ve earned enough points, you can redeem them in the Rewards section. You can choose to redeem your points for various gift cards including Amazon, TK Maxx, Currys, ASDA, Morrisons, Tesco, Just Eat and lots of others, or you can choose to donate your points to charity. There are also regular exclusive offers such as money-off coupons or free items in return for points. You can even redeem your points for some Gener8 stickers if you want to.
Items will be locked until you have enough points to redeem them, at which point you will be able to click on “buy now” to redeem your points for your chosen item.
How much money can you make with Gener8?
You’re never going to get rich with anything like this, but as my parents always say – “watch the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves”.
On average, you might earn enough to redeem a £5 Amazon Gift Card after about a week of having the extension installed, so that’s not too bad really. I like to save up things like this to use at Christmas to help keep the costs down.
Refer-a-Friend
There are two different ways you can earn points by referring a friend to Gener8.
Refer-a-Friend on the Gener8 Browser and Extension
You can earn extra points by referring a friend. For the first friend you refer who then becomes verified, you will earn an extra 50 points. You’ll then earn a further 10 points for each additional friend who signs up and becomes verified. In order to be verified, they need to:
- Complete their ad preferences in their account
- Use the Gener8 browser or have the extension installed
- Generate at least one point from browsing online
Refer-a-Friend on the Gener8 App
You can also earn points by referring friends via the app too. You will earn points once they have completed two data uploads or start using the Safari extension.
In order to receive your referral bonus, your friends will need to:
- Download the Gener8 app
- Register their details
- Select “invite a friend” from the main menu
- Scroll to the bottom and select “did someone refer you?”
- Enter your referral code and hit “save”
So, is it worth it?
For me, anything that makes me money for doing very little is definitely worth it. I spend a lot of time online jumping from one website to another, so points quickly add up for me. So, if you spend any time online, then it’s worth signing up and seeing how it goes. Even if you only earn a few rewards per month, it’s better than nothing at all.
