Google, today on its news blog, announced that it would introduce “Privacy Sandbox” for Android devices. This feature is said to limit sharing of user data with third-party applications and prohibit cross-app identification. Google aims to benefit users, developers, and businesses through this initiative.
The Silicon-valley based company calls the approaches made by other platforms regarding advertisement tracking as blunt and ineffective. This is indirectly inferred to Apple’s App Tracking Transparency introduced last year on WWDC 2021. Google wants to fix this and develop effective privacy-enhancing advertising solutions for developers and businesses.
Google intends to support developers’ existing ads platform features for at least two more years. It plans to provide multiple developer previews this year and a stable beta release by the end of the year. It has already collaborated with major developers like Snap Inc., Rovio, and Duolingo for “Privacy Sandbox.”
Snap Inc. quoted, “At Snap, we’ve made privacy a priority and placed it at the center of how we design our products. We are excited to collaborate with Google to develop new privacy-preserving standards for Android.” Snap Inc. is the parent company of the popular multimedia instant messaging app Snapchat.
Earlier, Meta (previously Facebook) said that privacy features introduced by Apple last year could cost its company $10 billion in lost sales this year. Last week, Meta executives threatened the European Union to pull Facebook and Instagram from Europe if it is unable to keep transferring user data back to the United States. Later on, the company commented that it has no desire to withdraw from Europe.
