Apple blew up the ad market in 2020 when it brought tracking to iOS. Since then, Google – the world’s largest advertiser – has been slow to roll out its solution to Android and Chrome. The idea Google has come up with is called “Privacy Sandbox”, which sounds great, but it’s a new tracking system for Android and Chrome. Once this is up and running, only then will Google say it will start blocking existing tracking methods such as third party cookies.
The company’s latest progress report is that the privacy sandbox is coming to Android in beta. Google says: “The Android beta privacy sandbox will roll out gradually, starting with a small percentage of Android 13 devices, and will expand over time. If your device is selected for beta testing, you will receive an Android notification informing you of this.. “
The privacy sandbox in Chrome and Android tracks users by interest group rather than individually, which Google claims is a privacy improvement. Android will soon create your ad profile and the UI will let you block “interests”you don’t want to see ads for. There’s a toggle and a list of apps that connect to the new tracking system – presumably anything that uses the new build of the Google Ads API.
Chrome’s “privacy sandbox”has at least some roundabout argument for better privacy, as Google claims it will one day block third-party tracking cookies in Chrome once the system is deployed. On Android, privacy sandbox tracking is in addition to all the usual individual tracking methods; it is not presented as an alternative to anything. The privacy sandbox on Android is toothless and Google has no plans to cut tracking on Android. The company said last year that “we plan to support the existing features of the advertising platform for at least two years and intend to provide substantial notice before any future changes.”Thus,