Ads are a way of life on the internet. But when it comes to social media, how much is too much? According to a report from WhistleOut, Facebook and Instagram show the most ads, and peak ad saturation can get as high as 42 percent of the content on user feeds.

After analyzing over 8,750 social media posts from 175 different accounts, WhistleOut determined that Facebook's newsfeed averages 21.2 percent ads. Instagram is a close second at 20.6 percent, while LinkedIn (19.6 percent) and Twitter (14.2 percent) follow behind. Interestingly, the recently maligned TikTok has a mere 2.4 percent ad rate.

But these percentages don't take into account peak ad saturation, or the highest percentage of ads shown to a user on their feed. The average user sees about one ad for every five posts, but at their worst, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter can jump as high as four ads for every 10 posts.

These numbers can increase for several reasons, but the most clear link seems to be how long users stay in the app—or at least, certain apps. Add up the numbers, and it's clear that Instagram shows the most ads the longer users remain logged in. Users typically spend 52 minutes on Instagram and see the second-highest number of ads. Meanwhile, users on TikTok spend 44 minutes using the app but still see the smallest number of ads.

While clicking on ads won't get you more ads than before, there seems to be a correlation to reporting ads on the platform and seeing more ads. WhistleOut also surveyed users about their social media habits and interactions with paid posts, and it concluded that respondents who reported ads saw 5 percent more ads.

• Twitter to Label Accounts From Government Officials, State-Run Media
• Twitter Lets Users Decide Who Can Reply to Tweets on iOS
• TikTok Bans Deepfakes, Expands Fact-Checking to Fight Election Misinformation
• Facebook and Twitter Crack Down on Trump Accounts Over 'Harmful' COVID-19 Claim
• More in The Why Axis
• More in Social Media

• Caffeine
• Mobcrush
• Facebook Gaming
• Mixer
• Twitch