Google’s new Privacy Sandbox for Android wants to limit tracking on the platform while allowing advertisers to keep tracking users.
Reports last year said that Google was looking at ways to limit tracking on Android, which would improve user privacy like Apple did with its new privacy features in iOS 14.5. But Google wasn’t sure how to do so without hurting its bottom line. Apple’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT) feature forces developers to ask for permission to track iPhone and iPad users. It’s a move that enraged Facebook last year. Google wasn’t anywhere near as vocal as Facebook when it came to protesting against Apple’s strong privacy features at the time. Nearly a year later, Google is ready to commit to making privacy changes on Android that are similar to ATT. However, Google wants to keep tracking you on Android so that advertisers can continue to sell targeted ads on the platform. Facebook (now Meta) launched a massive campaign last year against the iPhone’s app privacy labels and anti-tracking features. Facebook was unsuccessful in convincing Apple to drop the features. Then, earlier this year, Facebook announced that Apple’s privacy changes would decrease ad revenue by $10 billion. The news tanked Facebook’s stock, wiping $232 billion from the company’s market cap. Google preferred not to criticize Apple’s privacy features last year, ultimately rolling with the punches. But in its Privacy Sandbox announcement for Android, Google did take a shot at Apple.
