Google plans to develop new privacy measures that prevent the ability to track users in apps on Android devices, potentially disrupting digital advertising-based businesses like Facebook, which have already been disrupted by Apple’s app-tracking changes last year.
The company said on Wednesday that it is launching a multi-year effort to create privacy-focused advertising solutions that will limit the sharing of user data with third parties.
These solutions will work without the individual identifiers that allow developers to track user activity across various mobile apps and create advertisements that target a user’s behavior and interests.
Google also said it is exploring technologies that would reduce the potential for gathering data from a user without their knowledge.
The announcement – which comes as Google and other big tech companies face increasing regulatory scrutiny over privacy and other issues – was light on specifics about how the new system would work. But it was enough to unnerve some investors in companies that rely on targeted digital advertising. Shares in Meta (FB), Snap (SNAP), Twitter (TWTR) and Pinterest (PINS) were all down in early trading on Wednesday following the announcement.
Some of these companies have already taken a financial hit in recent months after Apple implemented changes in the iOS 14.5 update last year to give them greater privacy and control over their data. The change — which gives users the option to not allow apps to track their behavior — has contributed to a more than $200 billion decline in Meta’s market value after it released results earlier this month.
Meta said the app tracking change is expected to have a $10 billion impact on the company’s bottom line this year.
However, Google noted that it plans to work with developers to build the new system and said, without naming Apple, that it will not take the same “blunt” opt-out approach as the iPhone maker. adopted, which could provide some security for app companies and advertisers.
“We believe that — without first providing an alternative privacy-preserving path — such approaches can be ineffective and lead to worse outcomes for user privacy and developer businesses,” said Anthony Chavez, vice president of product management for security and Android privacy, in a statement made in the blog post.
Chavez also noted that Google plans to continue supporting its existing tracking system for at least two years and will provide “substantial notice” to the industry on how the changes will work.
Asked about the Google announcement and its potential impact on Meta’s business, a spokesperson for the social media company pointed to a tweet by Dennis Buchheim, vice president of the company’s advertising ecosystem. “It’s exciting to see this long-term collaborative approach to Google’s privacy-protective personalized advertising,” Buchheim said of Wednesday’s announcement.
Google’s announcement comes as the company is also working to replace third-party cookies, which can be used to track users’ behavior on the web, with a more privacy-focused solution in its Chrome browser.
That effort, which was initially slated to launch this year, has hit some snags as Google tries to balance input from advertisers and privacy experts.
It also comes as European regulators crack down on the data privacy practices of big tech companies and US regulators and lawmakers increasingly raise concerns about dominant online giants that prefer their own products and services on their platforms.
Google said it has pledged not to prioritize its own products or ad sites with its web privacy changes, and it will do the same on Android.
Source: CNN Brasil
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