Berliner Boersenzeitung - Google to overhaul ad tracking system on Android devices

EUR -
AED 3.996506
AFN 72.900955
ALL 98.308217
AMD 421.18485
ANG 1.962247
AOA 992.329453
ARS 1080.181434
AUD 1.648531
AWG 1.958544
AZN 1.857939
BAM 1.951173
BBD 2.198287
BDT 130.111476
BGN 1.956591
BHD 0.410043
BIF 3149.991364
BMD 1.08808
BND 1.432642
BOB 7.540328
BRL 6.302264
BSD 1.088718
BTN 91.571688
BWP 14.498022
BYN 3.563249
BYR 21326.366401
BZD 2.194656
CAD 1.511963
CDF 3094.499133
CHF 0.940172
CLF 0.037633
CLP 1038.41996
CNY 7.73222
CNH 7.746362
COP 4803.87284
CRC 558.775019
CUC 1.08808
CUP 28.834118
CVE 110.603516
CZK 25.336699
DJF 193.3737
DKK 7.458603
DOP 65.774638
DZD 144.733286
EGP 53.392866
ERN 16.321199
ETB 131.77079
FJD 2.476416
FKP 0.832565
GBP 0.839508
GEL 2.975906
GGP 0.832565
GHS 17.800855
GIP 0.832565
GMD 77.8544
GNF 9390.129613
GTQ 8.412053
GYD 227.985681
HKD 8.458929
HNL 27.278588
HRK 7.495815
HTG 143.28025
HUF 408.070771
IDR 17161.033261
ILS 4.081584
IMP 0.832565
INR 91.532868
IQD 1425.384693
IRR 45813.605196
ISK 148.925795
JEP 0.832565
JMD 172.032073
JOD 0.771557
JPY 165.731956
KES 140.362613
KGS 93.357036
KHR 4433.92573
KMF 492.35874
KPW 979.271681
KRW 1500.402352
KWD 0.333431
KYD 0.907373
KZT 532.008489
LAK 23872.473319
LBP 97491.960445
LKR 319.203098
LRD 208.748593
LSL 19.05177
LTL 3.212817
LVL 0.658168
LYD 5.233375
MAD 10.714325
MDL 19.43545
MGA 5021.488734
MKD 61.626889
MMK 3534.041131
MNT 3697.295593
MOP 8.716771
MRU 43.523418
MUR 50.084443
MVR 16.759449
MWK 1888.364769
MXN 21.88825
MYR 4.748922
MZN 69.534196
NAD 19.052337
NGN 1788.575322
NIO 40.014105
NOK 11.970859
NPR 146.514621
NZD 1.818666
OMR 0.418924
PAB 1.088848
PEN 4.100157
PGK 4.362659
PHP 63.604756
PKR 302.322999
PLN 4.35896
PYG 8574.667539
QAR 3.961265
RON 4.975758
RSD 117.039324
RUB 107.716482
RWF 1484.141009
SAR 4.086665
SBD 9.037832
SCR 14.742944
SDG 654.466525
SEK 11.670305
SGD 1.435493
SHP 0.832565
SLE 24.726642
SLL 22816.488369
SOS 621.293686
SRD 37.980509
STD 22521.057486
SVC 9.526411
SYP 2733.833729
SZL 19.052206
THB 36.642724
TJS 11.595724
TMT 3.819161
TND 3.371955
TOP 2.548391
TRY 37.375003
TTD 7.380702
TWD 34.80169
TZS 2933.325215
UAH 45.127108
UGX 3984.551734
USD 1.08808
UYU 45.362435
UZS 13943.744408
VEF 3941626.666042
VES 46.573125
VND 27577.385532
VUV 129.179066
WST 3.047912
XAF 654.423259
XAG 0.032257
XAU 0.0004
XCD 2.94059
XDR 0.817883
XOF 653.386429
XPF 119.331742
YER 271.856803
ZAR 19.061414
ZMK 9794.022753
ZMW 29.20655
ZWL 350.36129
  • RBGPF

    66.4100

    66.41

    +100%

  • SCS

    0.1100

    12.25

    +0.9%

  • RIO

    -0.3200

    65.01

    -0.49%

  • RYCEF

    0.0100

    7.11

    +0.14%

  • CMSD

    0.1103

    24.92

    +0.44%

  • GSK

    0.0900

    36.97

    +0.24%

  • AZN

    0.0100

    71.43

    +0.01%

  • NGG

    0.1900

    64.45

    +0.29%

  • RELX

    -0.0200

    47.06

    -0.04%

  • BTI

    0.0400

    35.11

    +0.11%

  • BCE

    -2.9800

    29.12

    -10.23%

  • CMSC

    0.1100

    24.64

    +0.45%

  • VOD

    -0.0300

    9.32

    -0.32%

  • BCC

    0.0500

    134.26

    +0.04%

  • JRI

    0.0500

    13.1

    +0.38%

  • BP

    0.5000

    29.73

    +1.68%

Google to overhaul ad tracking system on Android devices
Google to overhaul ad tracking system on Android devices

Google to overhaul ad tracking system on Android devices

Google announced plans Wednesday to limit ad tracking on its Android operating system running on billions of devices, a sensitive privacy issue that rival Apple has already moved to address on its iPhones.

Text size:

Tech giants are under growing pressure to better balance privacy and ad-targeting, as users complain and regulators threaten tougher rules, but the companies themselves try to maintain access to the data key to their many billions in ad revenue.

Apple has about 50 percent of the US smartphone market while Google's Android software is used on roughly 85 percent of smartphones globally, thus any changes have the potential to impact the data from billions of users.

"Our goal... is to develop effective and privacy enhancing advertising solutions, where users know their information is protected, and developers and businesses have the tools to succeed on mobile," Google said in a statement.

For its part, Apple announced last year that users of its one billion iPhones in circulation can decide whether to allow their online activity to be tracked for the purpose of targeting ads.

It was a change which Apple said shows its focus is on privacy, but that critics noted does not prevent the company itself from tracking its users.

Apple's tweak has sent ripples through the tech world, with Facebook parent Meta saying it expects that policy to cost the social media giant $10 billion in lost revenue this year.

A heavy impact is expected because less data will impact the precision of the ads Meta and other companies can sell, and thus their price.

- Online advertising billions -

Google gave an indication of the timing of its announced changes, saying "we plan to support existing ads platform features for at least two years, and we intend to provide substantial notice ahead of any future changes."

At present, the internet search giant assigns an identity to Android-powered devices, which enables advertisers to have a profile of people's habits and thus send them ads they might be interested in.

Google said it is working on ways to better protect users' privacy, which would "limit sharing of user data with third parties and operate without cross-app identifiers, including advertising ID."

It contrasted its plans with Apple's moves, saying, "we realize that other platforms have taken a different approach to ads privacy, bluntly restricting existing technologies used by developers and advertisers."

Facebook reacted to the news with some relief.

"Encouraging to see this long-term, collaborative approach to privacy-protective personalized advertising from Google," tweeted Meta's vice president of ad product marketing Graham Mudd.

While Google argued that the changes would protect users' anonymity, it could also further strengthen the dominance the tech giant already holds over the digital advertising industry.

Google's parent Alphabet pulled in over $60 billion in the fourth quarter of 2021 just in ad revenue, which makes up over 80 percent of its income.

But new pressure to change is building on Big Tech due to advancing landmark European legislation that could set unprecedented oversight, and similar efforts are underway in the United States.

The Facebook whistleblower scandal last year boosted regulation efforts long-stalled by sharp partisan divides in Washington, but for the moment no major legislation has gotten significant momentum.

(S.G.Stein--BBZ)