Original author | Daisuke Wakabayashi
From | The New York Times
Compile the | Sin
According to the New York Times, Google said Wednesday that it is working on privacy measures to restrict advertisers from sharing data on smartphones running its Android system. But the company has promised that the changes won't be as disruptive as Apple's similar moves last year.
Apple changed the privacy rules of the iOS system in 2021 to require advertisers to obtain permission before tracking users' behavior on other apps. The new rules have allowed users to make decisions to block tracking — with far-reaching implications for Internet companies that build businesses on so-called targeted advertising.
Google didn't provide an exact timeline, but said the point in time to change the current technical rules is at least two years from now.
This month, Meta (formerly Facebook) said at its fourth-quarter 2021 earnings conference that Apple's privacy changes will cause $10 billion in lost advertising revenue in 2022. The statement weighed on Meta's share price and raised concerns about other companies that rely on digital advertising.
Anthony Chavez, vice president of Google's Android division, said in an interview that it was too early to assess the potential impact of Google's changes, which are designed to limit data sharing across apps and with third parties. But he stressed that the company's goal is to provide users with better privacy-preserving options, while also allowing developers to continue to earn advertising revenue.
As the world's two largest suppliers of smartphone operating systems, Google and Apple's every move will have a significant impact on the functioning of apps on billions of smart devices. Responding to calls from consumers, regulators and politicians, Google and Apple are adding privacy protections or giving users greater control over their data. The price is for Internet companies that rely on collecting data to sell personalized ads tailored to user interests as a business model.
Chavez said that if Google and Apple don't offer privacy-focused alternatives, advertisers may turn to more stealthy options, which could lead to less protection for users. He also argued that Apple's "blunt approach" proved to be "ineffective," citing a study that said the iOS changes had no meaningful effect on discouraging third-party tracking.
An Apple spokesperson declined to comment.
The changes at Google and Apple are significant because digital advertising based on user data accumulation has supported the internet for the past 20 years. But this business model is facing more challenges as users become increasingly suspicious of far-reaching data collection amid widespread distrust of tech giants.
The difference in the methods of Apple and Google also reflects the differences in the business models of the two companies. Much of Apple's revenue comes from selling devices, while Google's revenue comes mostly from selling digital ads and may be more willing to consider the needs of advertisers.
Wayne Coburn, director of products at marketing software company Iterable, said it wasn't surprising that Google took those steps when Apple aggressively promoted "better privacy protections than Android" as a selling point. Still, he said Google's approach felt like a "weak gesture" because it provided a two-year timeline. He expects Google to be under pressure to "do more and faster."
"It's a reaction to what Apple has done," Coburn said. "Google itself has no intention of doing it."
Google says it plans to introduce its privacy program, Privacy Sandbox, which is largely limited to reducing tracking of the company's Chrome browser, into Android, the world's most widely used software for mobile devices. Google had previously been forced to improve its approach to eliminating cookies on Chrome, as it faced resistance from both privacy campaigns and advertisers.
Privacy Sandbox
Google says it's proposing some new ways to protect privacy in Android that allow advertisers to evaluate the effectiveness of advertising campaigns and display personalized ads based on past behavior or recent interests — as well as new tools to limit secret tracking through apps. Google didn't provide much detail about how these new alternatives worked.
As part of the change, Google says it plans to phase out advertising IDs — a tracking feature in Android that helps advertisers understand whether users clicked on ads or purchased products, and keep an eye on their interests and activities. Google says it already allows users to opt out of personalized ads by removing tracking identifiers.
The company says it plans to have all advertisers, including Google itself, eliminate the use of identifiers in Android ads. Chavez said Google's own apps don't have special or privileged access to Android data or features unless specifically stated how it works. This echoes Google's promise to UK regulators that it will not give preferential treatment to its own products.
The company didn't offer a clear timeline for eliminating advertising IDs, but it promised to keep the existing system in place for two years. Google said it would offer advertisers a preview version of its new proposal before releasing a more complete beta version this year.
*Header image source: Visual China
This article is a compilation article for Geek Park, please contact Geek Jun WeChat geekparker for reprint