Google will no longer use advertising tool for Android after 2024

Google will no longer use its Advertising ID tool for Android after 2024. Instead, the company is working on a Privacy Sandbox for Android, which should give users “more control over their data and privacy”.

The standards of the Privacy Sandbox initiative have been applied in Chrome since 2019. Now Google wants to apply the same methods in Android. These should “better guarantee the privacy of users, without being denied access to free content and services,” writes head of Product Management Anthony Chavez in a blog post Wednesday.

Among other things, Google wants to limit the sharing of user data with third parties and “research technologies that reduce the chance of covert data collection”. The company also wants mobile ads to no longer contain trackers.

It is not yet known when Google will stop using AdID. The company promises to inform mobile advertisers and developers “well in advance” when it will pull the plug on the tool.

The collection of user data by advertisers is increasingly being restricted by large tech companies. Last year, Apple made the App Tracking Transparency feature available in iOS 14.5. This requires users to give permission for each app to track their activities so that developers can display targeted advertisements. Several companies, including Meta, have criticized the feature because opt-in tracking would cause a significant drop in revenue. Meta expects that Apple’s privacy function will lose ten billion dollars in revenue this year, according to Reuters.