Google updates Android policies, restricts mobile ad tracking
Google has introduced new features that will prohibit developers from tracking and accessing users without their permission.
The new feature, Advertising ID is a unique, user-resettable ID for advertising, provided by Google Play services. It gives users better controls and provides developers with a simple, standard system to continue to monetize their apps. It enables users to reset their identifier or opt out of personalized ads or interest-based ads within Google Play apps.
Formerly, developers could freely access users’ Advertising IDs and gain information on device usage to share with advertisers. According to the big tech, the advertising ID will be removed when a user opts out of personalization using advertising ID in Android Settings. Any attempts to access the identifier will receive a string of zeros instead of the identifier. To help developers and ad/analytics service providers with compliance efforts and respect user choice, they will be able to receive notifications for opt-out preferences.
Google’s tracking change is the tech giant’s latest effort to provide a more privacy-forward experience for its users. Although Android has long allowed users to opt out of personalized ads, unique Advertising IDs have still provided app developers a way to track device usage, which is valuable information for advertisers who deploy ads on those apps.
This move follows Apple’s iOS 14.5 software update, IDFA an opt-in feature, which requires developers to ask permission from users in order to access their device’s ID. In the same vein, as part of its iOS 15 software update, the company will introduce Mail Privacy Protection for the Apple mail app.
This prevents senders from knowing whether a user open an email, and it will hide IP addresses so that senders can’t link that action to other online activity or determine a user’s location.
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