Google to Restrict Cross-App Tracking of Users on Android

pcmag.com:

Google is going to start blocking cross-app tracking on Android in a multi-year effort to replace the existing online advertising system for its mobile OS with a privacy-preserving alternative.

The company mentioned the news on Wednesday as part of an announcement about new privacy-focused restrictions that will stop Android apps from profiling users’ internet activities.

“​​Specifically, these solutions will limit sharing of user data with third parties and operate without cross-app identifiers, including advertising ID. We’re also exploring technologies that reduce the potential for covert data collection,” Google said. This includes stopping advertisers from using other forms of data to fingerprint users. 

The announcement arrives a year after Apple introduced privacy controls for iOS that, among other things, required iOS software developers to first ask users for permission to track their activities across both the web and third-party apps in order to serve tailored ads.

Google's Wednesday statement signals the tech giant is preparing to cut out cross-app tracking too. Android currently makes cross-app tracking easy by giving each device an advertising ID, which software developers can collect to determine which apps you’ve been using.

To avoid the tracking, users can manually reset an advertising ID or even opt out of the ad system by going into the Android OS settings. However, third-party apps can still collect other kinds of data, such as a phone’s serial number or IP address, to fingerprint a user and track them across the internet. 

In response, Google is working on a new system for Android that promises to prevent user tracking without disrupting the online advertising industry. The effort is called the