- Google is testing Privacy Sandbox, its weapon against ad tracking, on Android
- Android 13 users will receive a notification if they are affected by this test.
- And a screen will allow you to manage the information that apps access to display advertisements
- While protecting the privacy of Android users, Google offers a solution for the advertising industry and app developers
Google begins the deployment of its solution against advertising tracking on Android. Like Apple, Google wants to put an end to certain practices in the advertising industry. But not before offering an alternative that allows app developers and publishers to monetize their content with relevant ads, while respecting privacy. This solution is now deployed in beta on Android. Some users using an Android 13 device will receive a notification to participate in these tests.
The launch of this initiative called “Privacy Sandbox” on Android was announced in 2022. And today, Google is taking the next step. According to the firm, this solution is being rolled out gradually, and will be available to a greater number of users later. In essence, like iOS, Android will crack down on advertising IDs. These identifiers are used to track user activities across apps. This practice will be replaced by new solutions that do not involve individual tracking.
On the current system, which Google wants to end, an advertising platform can, for example, use identifiers to find out which apps you have used. Thanks to this history, they can deduce your centers of interest, in order to select the advertisements likely to interest you. On the new system tested on Android, it is the operating system that determines which subjects are of interest to you. Ad platforms no longer track you, but use your list of interests to determine which ads will be relevant to you.
No tracking, just interest generated by Android
Other technologies, intended to replace the use of tracers, are proposed. And besides, the Android team is not reinventing the wheel, since it has just adapted the technologies that Google has developed to put an end to third-party cookies on Chrome. If you receive the notification from Google to participate in the test of this new technology, you will then be able to access a new “Privacy Sandbox” section in your smartphone settings. In particular, you will find the list of interests that Android has associated with your smartphone (and that advertisements can use), with the possibility of removing items from these lists.
On the left, the screen to activate the novelty of Android. And on the right, the list of points of interest generated by the operating system. ©Google
In other words, instead of letting advertising platforms identify the apps you’ve used, Android acts as a middleman. It is the operating system that uses your history, to then indicate to the apps displaying advertisements which are the subjects which interest you. As part of its tests, Google nevertheless allows the user to disable Privacy Sandbox on Android.
“Publishers and developers need innovative, privacy-friendly alternatives for their core business needs, including delivering relevant ads, to continue delivering free experiences to billions of people around the world.”, explains Google on the presentation site of this solution.
The difference between Android and iOS
The firm has already published a deployment schedule. After launching Privacy Sandbox on a small number of devices running Android 13, Google will expand access to this new feature throughout the year. For the moment, it is not known when Google will permanently block advertising identifiers on its OS, but the end of these identifiers is near.
As a reminder, on iOS, Apple blocks application access to advertising identifiers (IDFA) except for those that obtain explicit authorization from the user, via a dialog box. This approach is criticized by Google, because according to it, “brutal approaches that don’t provide viable alternatives hurt app developers”. The firm also believes that this may push some developers to adopt even less privacy-friendly practices to circumvent the restrictions.
