Google Announces Plans to Allow Android Users to Opt-Out of Tracking Later in 2021
Android users, later this year, will have the ability to opt-out of tracking across apps on Android devices, limiting the ability for apps to access their unique advertising ID, Google announced in a support page update (via Bloomberg).
/article-new/2021/03/play-store-google.jpeg?lossy)
The new change, in theory, is similar to Apple's recently launched ATT, or App Tracking Transparency framework; however, it differs in direct implementation. On iOS 14.5 or later, when users first open an app, a prompt is shown with the options "Ask App not to track" or "Allow." According to Google, users won't see a pop-up for each app, nor will they have granular controls over each individual app's ability to access their IDFA.
Instead, according to the support document, a new toggle within Android settings will let users opt-out completely of all tracking, for all apps.
As part of Google Play services update in late 2021, 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
Initial reports suggested that Google was hesitant to implement a framework similar to Apple's due to concerns over the impact it would have on its advertising business. In the weeks and months leading up to Apple's ATT launch, which was first previewed at the company's developers conference last year, Facebook and other companies voiced concerns that the new privacy-focused change would hurt their bottom line.
Google says the new change, which will come as part of an update to its Google Play services, will be rolled out in phases starting later this year and "will expand to affect apps running on devices that support Google Play in early 2022."
Top Stories
Apple is planning to boost its advertising business through a new ad slot on the App Store search page which will allow developers to promote their apps across the entire platform, rather than just when users search for a specific app, according to a new report from the Financial Times.
Apple already boasts an App Store advertising business where it allows developers to pay for the top...
Apple will face a French antitrust probe into its upcoming App Tracking Transparency feature, following a complaint from advertisers in the country that the planned changes are anticompetitive.
Starting in iOS 14.5, Apple will require apps to get opt-in permission from users to collect their random advertising identifier, which advertisers use to deliver personalized ads and track how...
Apple plans to begin enforcing its App Tracking Transparency changes following the release of iOS 14.5, and all apps that access an iPhone's ad identifier or IDFA will need to ask a user's permission before tracking is allowed.
LinkedIn today said that with Apple's proposed changes, it will no longer be accessing the IDFA so LinkedIn users will not be presented with an ad tracking popup....
Apple with iOS 14 introduced App Privacy labels for App Store apps, which are designed to let customers know details about the data that an app will collect about them before they make the decision to install an app.
Google is planning to follow in Apple's footsteps with the Play Store, introducing a new feature that will require developers to provide transparency into how apps are using...
Apple today shared a new privacy-focused ad on its YouTube channel, highlighting App Tracking Transparency on the iPhone.
In the spot, a man orders a coffee, and the barista follows him out as he gets in a cab, providing his date of birth to the cab driver. The cab driver and the barista follow him throughout his day, keeping track of his whereabouts and viewing his personal data....
T-Mobile is planning to automatically opt its customers into an advertising program that will see user web and mobile app usage shared with advertisers, reports The Wall Street Journal.
In a recent privacy policy update, T-Mobile and Sprint customers were informed that their web and mobile app data will be provided to advertisers starting on April 26 unless they specifically opt out....
Wednesday April 14, 2021 10:29 am PDT by
Sami FathiGoogle today announced new automation and web features coming to Google Assistant for Android and iOS, with the most notable feature for Apple users being the ability to locate a lost iPhone using the digital assistant.
Android users have long been able to use the Google Assistant to trigger a sound for their smartphone if it got lost. That same ability, much like Apple's own Find My...
Starting with iOS 14.5, iPadOS 14.5, and tvOS 14.5, all of which are currently in beta testing, Apple will be requiring developers to receive a user's consent to track their activity across other apps and websites and/or access their device's random advertising identifier. Users will be presented with a prompt with options to "Allow Tracking" or "Ask App not to Track" when opening apps that wish...
With Apple now enforcing its App Tracking Transparency rules with the release of iOS 14.5, The Wall Street Journal's Joanna Stern did an interview with Apple software engineering chief Craig Federighi to talk about Apple's aim with the feature and how it works.
For those unfamiliar with App Tracking Transparency, it requires app developers to get express user permission before accessing a...
Apple appears to be ironing out a bug that meant some iOS 14.5 users were unable to adjust the "Allow Apps to Request to Track" setting that was rolled out as part of Apple's App Tracking Transparency (ATT) feature.
In iOS 14.5, iPadOS 14.5, and tvOS 14.5, ATT requires that apps ask for permission before tracking your activity across other companies' apps and websites for targeted...
Top Rated Comments
Google have to begrudgingly react somehow.
The privacy bubble is akin to a fart in a jacuzzi.