Google will piss off Facebook: Android will stop apps from tracking everything you do

Protecting privacy is a key aspect of online security, and more and more people are worrying about what kind of use is made of their data. For this reason, Android promises to include a new configuration that will make it more difficult for applications installed on their mobiles to track users .

According to a Financial Times report , Google’s operating system will prevent developers from accessing an account’s advertising ID . As long as users have chosen to disable ad personalization, of course.

According to the report, the news has already been reported to developers who publish their Android apps on the Play Store. The new privacy option is expected to be available near the end of the year .

This way, when users turn off ad personalization, Android will stop showing their ad ID to app creators . Instead you will see a “string of zeros”, preventing developers from accessing the identifier.

Today, no matter how much people choose not to receive personalized advertisements, developers still have access to their advertising ID. This allows tracing between applications , generally related to fraud prevention or for statistics collection. This will no longer be possible with the new settings on Android. Regardless, Google promises to develop an alternative solution for non-advertising uses.

Android wants to achieve the same as Apple in iOS 14.5 with App Tracking Transparency

Starting with iOS 14.5, Apple introduced an option called App Tracking Transparency . Through said utility, iPhone users must give explicit consent to applications so that they can or cannot track their activity. The setup drew strong criticism from companies like Facebook, but it quickly proved a hit with the public.

The new privacy tools that are incorporated into Android aim to walk a similar path . The renewed advertising ID access policy joins other efforts to “make transparent” the handling of the information of the people who depend on Google services on a daily basis. A short time ago, for example, the Play Store added new privacy labels that are similar to those already implemented in the App Store.

Regardless, it will always be difficult for those at Moutain View to remove the cloak of suspicion that surrounds how it handles the data it collects across multiple platforms.