Android 12 features: Google hints at implementing new advertising rules similar to Apple’s App Tracking Transparency

Google is changing its policy on handling advertising IDs later this year. The new rule, which could be somewhat similar to Apple’s App Tracking Transparency, will be likely implemented along with the public release of Android 12.

A change in a Google support page was spotted Thursday where the company discreetly announces an upcoming Google Play services update that will change how advertising is conducted through Android apps. Google confirmed it is going to remove the ad ID for users who will opt-out of receiving personalized ads. Along with the update on the Play Console Help page, Financial Times (via The Verge) reported that Google had also sent an email to Play Store developers confirming the forthcoming update.

“Any attempts to access the identifier will receive a string of zeros instead of the identifier,” Google wrote. “To help developers and ad/analytics service providers with compliance efforts and respect user choice, they will be able to receive notifications for opt-out preferences.”

This is going to be a significant change compared to how Google handles ad ID. Android users have the option to opt-in and out of personalized ads by going to Settings > Google > Ads and using the toggle for Ads Personalization. But opting out does not delete or disable the designated ad ID on an Android device. So when a user chooses to opt-out, they will be notified that they will still see ads only they will not be patterned based on their interests.

Last year, Apple announced it is removing the Identifier for Advertisers (IDFA) along with an iOS 14 feature that allows users to opt-out of being tracked across apps and websites through the App Tracking Transparency framework. While the change did not take effect until earlier this year via iOS 14.5, it has been working so far as Apple presented it. People using iOS 14 devices use a single toggle to turn off tracking for all apps or only opt-out on specific apps.

Google previously announced it is removing third-party cookies. While the company said it will not introduce a new type of identifier for targeted ads, Google is in the processing of testing and rolling out the Federated Learning of Cohorts (FLoC) system within the next year. Google described FLoC as an “interest-based advertising” system “by clustering large groups of people with similar interests.”

Google only said the removal of ad ID is happening “in late 2021.” Considering that is also the same timeline for the public release of Android 12, there may be more privacy focused-features in the pipeline.

Photo by Mika Baumeister on Unsplash