Google announces Privacy Sandbox for Android to limit user-level ad tracking

[Humza]

The big picture: Given that ads form a major chunk of revenue for Google (and parent Alphabet), the search giant cannot afford to employ Apple-like strict measures in forcing apps to seek user permission for tracking their behavior across other apps. With Privacy Sandbox, however, Google is seeking to develop a new ad system that balances privacy by getting rid of user-level tracking mechanisms and preventing covert data collection, while keeping advertisers in the equation and ensuring that free content and services remain accessible without risk.

Google is bringing Chrome’s Privacy Sandbox feature to Android, target technologies that it acknowledges are different but will benefit users and advertisers across web and mobile platforms.

Although the tracking mechanisms in Privacy Sandbox for Android will take at least two years to finalize and implement, according to Google, the idea is to develop a privacy-focused approach for users that doesn’t rely on device-level identifiers and limits covert tracking by advertisers. The latter, however, can still show ads based on “custom audiences,” as detailed in Google’s FLEDGE API built to display relevant content and ads as part of Privacy Sandbox.

How an ad is displayed with Privacy Sandbox on Android

In the announcement, Google also took an indirect shot at Apple by calling its approach towards ads privacy ‘blunt’ and ‘ineffective’ that restricted existing technologies used by developers and advertisers. Apple’s sweeping privacy changes introduced with iOS 14 let users opt out of targeted ads and prevented apps from tracking cross-app behavior.

The move considerably disrupted the ad industry, including Meta/Facebook, which expects a $10 billion loss to its ad revenue this year. Google, of course, cannot adopt similar anti-tracking measures. Having generated just over $61 billion in the last quarter alone, the company’s ad business is a crucial component that formed the backbone of its total $75.3 billion quarterly revenue.

With Privacy Sandbox, perhaps Google might be able to strike a good balance between user privacy and the digital ads ecosystem, considering the latter's impact on its financials. The initial signs are looking positive, following a nod of approval from the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which plans to supervise the development of Privacy Sandbox and ensure that it’s beneficial to consumers.

Google has also gathered support from partners including Snap, Duolingo and Rovio on this initiative, and notes that it's open to feedback from the industry.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/93439-google-announces-privacy-sandbox-android-limit-user-level.html

 

[Uncle Al]

Yeah, and if you believe that I got a couple of bridges to Hawaii I will sell you ....

 

[Dimitriid]

So we're going to be ok with a criminal being in charge of security and policing not only rival criminals but also itself?

Because unlike the Apple case*, this is what's happening here: It's not just Google caring about privacy, it's Google crushing it's *DIRECT* competitors like Facebook in the advertising arena. There's an overwhelmingly clear conflict of interest here that I guess most people will ignore because we decided we're ok with an advertising company developing and running a mobile OS

And before they try to make any excuses for it remember, even if their implementation is solid they are the ones in control of the OS so no matter how isolated and cut off each app that tracks metadata is from each other, Google on a technical level could *still* collect, organize and sell said metadata since it can be collected on the OS level.

Sorry but maybe it's time concerned parties (A.K.A. Legislators and regulators) actually do something that at least resembles doing their job and force Google to go 100% open source with Android and Play Store because otherwise we literally have only their say so that they won't be using this to obtain an unprecedented, unfair advantage over competitors.

*EDIT: I know Apple actually can do the exact same things and probably will at some point. The problem is that Apple is not inherently an advertising company that directly competes on big data targeted ads like Google is to Facebook. So is far more overt in it's conflict of interest by not being a hardware company at all and being an advertising procuring company instead.

 

[dragosmp]

I have installed the duckduckgo android app addblocker, it says in the last hour it blocked 178 tracking attempts, in 4 apps I used, by 18 trackers. It's the usual goog, fb, amzn and many more.

By this announcement google says "look, all these people are tracking you, how awful. We're gonna make it such that only we can track you, it's better surely!"

 

[trparky]

Sorry but maybe it's time concerned parties (A.K.A. Legislators and regulators) actually do something that at least resembles doing their job and force Google to go 100% open source with Android and Play Store because otherwise we literally have only their say so that they won't be using this to obtain an unprecedented, unfair advantage over competitors.

I think Google should be forced to spin Android off into a completely separate corporate entity. Then again, I don't know how they'd be able to make money unless the "Android Company" starts charging people for their platform like Apple does.

Then again, maybe that's a good thing. We need to get people out of the mindset that getting something for free is good because again, as the old saying goes... When something is free, you are the product.

 

[Dimitriid]

I think Google should be forced to spin Android off into a completely separate corporate entity. Then again, I don't know how they'd be able to make money unless the "Android Company" starts charging people for their platform like Apple does.

Then again, maybe that's a good thing. We need to get people out of the mindset that getting something for free is good because again, as the old saying goes... When something is free, you are the product.

I would even take it a step further and also state that Apple and Microsoft should *also* be made to give up OS level control and/or fully open source it for anyone to be able to interact with.

But just focusing on Google the conflict is clear and Google just cannot be just trusted to be a fair arbiter of competitor's behavior through the OS. Microsoft is right up to that line, if not over it already, on Windows 11 with it's start menu advertising of results as well

 

[bviktor]

so now that Apple did all the fight, they finally dare do the same? How nice.

 

[p51d007]

I use the brave browser, and the app adguard.
I turned on this new phone Jan 21st.
Adguard has knocked down 49,916 ads, 86,013 trackers, saved 1.16GB
data.
Brave browser had knocked down 18,000 trackers & ads, saved 619 MB
of data. THAT is just in a little under one month!