Google To Let Android Users Opt Out Of Tracking

Google will allow Android users to opt-out of tracking by advertisements on their smartphone apps, following competitor Apple Inc.’s earlier effort to improve privacy on iPhones.

The update will be available via a new version of Google Play services, which will be rolled in late 2021. Android 12 devices will receive the update at first. Though Google intends to roll out an update focused on restricting ad tracking for a bigger audience over time.

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If a user denies personalized ads, developers would no longer be able to view their unique advertising ID. Users won’t opt out of ad tracking by default, unlike Apple’s service.

App Tracking

According to Bloomberg, Google has been considering a means to give Android consumers more flexibility over ad tracking while taking a less restrictive approach than Apple. Google announced in May that a safety section would be added to the Play Store in 2022, allowing Android users to know what data developers gather and share about users, as well as access to more privacy and security information.

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Apple’s App Tracking Transparency option, which enables users to opt-out from the apps tracking them for targeted advertising, wracked the mobile advertising market in April. Since most consumers are unlikely to consent to their data being collected, developers expect a revenue loss as a result.

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Google also stated that it would send opt-out selection notifications “to help” advertising companies and developers in their compliance efforts. In the case of critical use cases like analytics and fraud prevention, a different solution will be given. A detailed discussion over this would happen next month.

Importantly, users on Android devices may already opt out of personalized advertisements. You can do this by navigating to Settings > Google > Ads and enabling the option. That solution, however, does not prevent advertisers from tracking your behavior entirely at this time.