PurposeWith the developments of the digital era and considerable developments in ICT, advertisers are leveraging data-driven forms of online advertising to target consumers individually. The present study integrates privacy concerns with the constructs from the persuasion knowledge model to investigate consumer avoidance of online behavioural advertising (OBA).Design/methodology/approachThe study employed an online survey method for data collection using a sample size of 345. Reliability and validity of the measurement scales were ensured, and hypotheses developed were tested through PLS-SEM using SMART PLS.FindingsThe results show that persuasion knowledge is a significant predictor of perceived benefits, perceived risks and privacy concerns. Also, privacy concern was found to significantly mediate persuasion knowledge-avoidance behaviour and perceived risk-avoidance behaviour. On the other hand, the perceived benefit was not found significant in influencing privacy concerns for OBA.Practical implicationsThe present study is one of the initial attempts to understand the level of knowledge Indian consumers hold about OBA and how they evaluate and respond to these data-driven forms of advertising. The current study helps advance knowledge of the field and the theories used. Future studies might look at the effect of various demographic and psychographic aspects on consumer avoidance of OBA.Originality/valueAs the country is shifting to digital, it becomes really important to understand the privacy concerns that people perceive in regard with the current advertising practices.