Apple made headlines when it launched its app transparency tracking feature, which will be released in iOS 14.5. The tool actually requires developers to ask permission to track iOS users for ad targeting. Now Google seems to be developing a similar proprietary feature.
Bloomberg reports that Google is finding an alternative to Apple’s transparency of applications in an effort to limit the collection of data and tracking by various applications on Android. Google’s version would be ‘less strict’, according to the report’s sources.
“Google seeks to balance the growing demands of privacy-conscious consumers with the financial needs of developers and advertisers,” Bloomberg said.
In a statement to the publication, a Google spokesperson did not confirm or deny that a feature was coming in, but said the search giant always wants to balance privacy with an app ecosystem that is healthy and ad-supported. This means that Google’s upcoming version of Apple’s App Tracking Transparency is likely to be less stringent and that developers may not even need permission from users to track their data.
“To keep advertisers happy while enhancing privacy, the discussions surrounding Google’s Android solution suggest that it may be similar to the planned changes to the Chrome browser,” Bloomberg said.
Google had previously planned to phase out third-party cookies in Chrome within two years. Instead, the browser will use an alternative that enables some ad targets with less specific data collection. Advertisers can target groups of people with similar interests, but not individuals. This could possibly be the approach that Google follows on Android.
After Apple passed transparency last year, Apple came under fire from companies claiming the new policy would harm small businesses. Facebook has been one of the most critical critics of Apple’s new feature and is even considering an antitrust lawsuit. Apple, meanwhile, says the new features are designed for users.
“Users need to know when their data is being collected and shared across other apps and websites – and they need to have the choice to allow it or not,” Apple said last year.
It will be interesting to see how far Google goes when it finally launches its own version of application transparency. After all, a large part of Google’s business is advertising, but because privacy is becoming more of a concern for users, the search giant may be forced to follow in Apple’s footsteps – or at least find a happy medium.