Google will allow Android users to opt out of being tracked by advertisers on its smartphone apps, following an earlier effort by rival Apple to increase privacy on iPhones.
The option will be available in late 2021 with an update to Google Play Services, said Alphabet Inc. on a support site. Developers will no longer be able to see a user's unique advertising ID if that person opts out of personalized ads. Unlike Apple's feature, users will not be excluded from ad tracking by default, so users will have to disable the feature which will remain enabled.
Android 12: All about Google's new system; imminent launch
Privacy: Google following Apple
For months, Google has been thinking about a way to give Android users more control over ad tracking with a less rigorous approach than Apple's. In May, Google announced that it would create a security section on its Play Store in 2022 so that Android users can see what data developers collect and share about them, as well as give them access to additional privacy and security information.
Apple rocked the mobile advertising industry in April when it launched its App Tracking Transparency feature, which requires users to opt-in to being tracked by apps for personalized advertising. Developers expect to lose revenue from the move because most consumers are unlikely to agree to their data being collected.
Google said the launch of Play Services will affect apps running on Android 12 devices from the end of 2021 and will migrate to other devices with Google Play in early 2022. It remains to be seen if with that, even those who have already accepted the new terms of Whatsapp, by deactivating this tracking, it will no longer share data with Facebook, it is not yet known for sure which "accepted" will be mandatory, but if we take into account that the system commands the application, if the user deactivates sharing on Android , the same should stop in the applications.
