Google has announced its intention to radically change the management of user data privacy and targeted advertising on its Android mobile operating system.
The web giant was making changes to give users greater control over their privacy, without necessarily inducing the same level of disruption for advertisers as Apple did with its App Tracking Transparency (ATT) .
Google is not Apple
For Anthony Chavez, VP Product management for Android, it’s too early in the planning phases of these changes to assess the exact impact it might have on ad revenue, can we read in the New York Times. Google’s ultimate goal, he adds, is “to find a way for users to better protect their privacy, while allowing developers to continue to earn ad revenue.”
Google doesn’t want to be like Apple, whose changes to iOS user privacy have upended ad revenue for some companies. Like Meta, the parent company of Facebook, which recently claimed that the decision to allow users to block targeted ads on its platform would cost it up to $10 billion this year.
But, as noted by New York TimesGoogle’s reliance on online advertising for the majority of its revenue makes it unlikely to implement a measure as drastic as Apple’s.
The new FLoC
Google remained vague on its timeline, however, and did not give details of the rules it plans to enforce. The web giant, however, revealed that one of its main goals would be to transfer its Privacy Sandbox control system from the Chrome desktop browser to the Android operating system.
This privacy management measure is closely linked to the Topics project, recently unveiled by Google. This is a new solution aimed at replacing cookies with something that Google says will provide the same advertising opportunities for businesses, but with an increased level of privacy for users, compared to current tracking technologies.
The Sandbox and Topics projects both aim to help the company replace FLoC, its first failed attempt to replace cookies, which has drawn widespread rejection from major web players.
Advertising ID will disappear
Google also revealed the coming end of its Advertising ID, a major part of Android’s ability to track ads by providing advertisers with data about users’ purchases and clicks, while helping to determine their centers. of specific interest. The company said the removal would be phased in and that Advertising ID would remain in place for at least another two years.
The company should begin showing potential replacements for this advertising ID shortly. The goal is to release a full-fledged trial version within a year.
In the New York Times, Google clarifies that the new tracking system, whatever it is, will never give preferential treatment to its own advertisements. The web giant has had a lot to do with regulators on this subject in the past. The latter accused it of prioritizing its own services and platforms to the detriment of others in the Android operating system. It seems that Google has learned its lesson, and prefers to avoid having to pay millions of dollars in penalties.
Source: ZDNet.com