GOOD NEWS: Proactive Measures To Better Protect Online Privacy DO NOT TRACK

When one big tech company moves in the right direction, others get onboard to slowly embrace

anti-tracking features on apps

Google is weighing an anti-tracking feature for Android, following Apple’s lead

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Google’s version may not be as severe as Apple’s App Tracking Transparency

By Nick Statt@nickstatt Feb 4, 2021, 4:30pm EST

Google’s work to develop new privacy practices and standards for the web is known as the Privacy Sandbox. As part of that ongoing project, Google has taken steps to phase out third-party cookies on Chrome and is working on tools that allow advertisers to target groups of users instead of directly targeting individuals.

All of this could inform how Google develops an anti-tracking measure for Android, Bloomberg reports. (scroll down farther for more details from the Bloomberg report)

> First announced at Apple’s developer conference last summer, App Tracking Transparency effectively slides a system-level opt in between an app’s tracking capabilities and a user’s preferences. If the user says they would rather not be tracked, there’s nothing the developer can do to get around that because Apple will disable a developer’s ability to gather the so-called Identifier for Advertisers code, or IDFA. That code both lets advertisers track users from one app or website to another for ad targeting while also helping advertisers measure the effectiveness of ads, such as whether a user ends up purchasing a product they saw on one app by using the mobile website of the merchant.

Apple intends to police developers using audits and other methods to enforce its policies, which include potentially suspending or banning apps from the App Store if a developer does not comply.

> Both Facebook and Google have publicly expressed concern for how Apple’s opt-in requirement could negatively affect their mobile advertising networks. But Facebook has gone a step further and begun waging a public relations war against Apple over the change by complaining it will harm small businesses and accusing Apple of being self-serving.

 

Google Explores Alternative to Apple’s New Anti-Tracking Feature

By Mark Gurman and Nico Grant

Bloomberg.com |

‎February‎ ‎4‎, ‎2021‎ ‎9‎:‎46

Google is exploring an alternative to Apple Inc.’s new anti-tracking feature, the latest sign that the internet industry is slowly embracing user privacy, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Internally, the search giant is discussing how it can limit data collection and cross-app tracking on the Android operating system in a way that is less stringent than Apple’s solution, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private plans.

Google is trying to balance the rising demands of privacy-conscious consumers with the financial needs of developers and advertisers. The Alphabet Inc. unit is seeking input from these stakeholders, similar to how it’s slowly developing a new privacy standard for web browsing called the Privacy Sandbox.

With more than $100 billion in annual digital ad sales, Google has a vested interest in helping partners to continue generating revenue by targeting ads to Android device users and measuring the performance of those marketing spots. . . "“We’re always looking for ways to work with developers to raise the bar on privacy while enabling a healthy, ad-supported app ecosystem,” a Google spokesman said in a statement.

The exploration into an Android alternative to Apple’s feature is still in the early stages, and Google hasn’t decided when, or if, it will go ahead with the changes.

On the iPhone, Google offers developers a framework so they can monetize their apps using Google ads.

> In a recent blog post, Google said Apple’s ad-tracking update means developers “may see a significant impact” on their ad revenue. . .

Google’s web alternative, known as the Privacy Sandbox, allows some ad targeting with less-specific data collection.

As part of that solution, the company has developed a technology called Federated Learning of Cohorts that lets advertisers target groups of people with similar interests rather than individuals. Google is likely to take a similar approach with Android.

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