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| Google is upgrading Android privacy to compete with Apple |
Google is tightening privacy for Android users who want advertisers to have a hard time following them when switching between apps.
The company is trying to refute claims that Apple is portrayed as being responsible for data protection.
Google offers additional protection for Android users who do not wish to reveal their advertising identifiers. This could deal another blow to the digital advertising industry, which is estimated at $400 billion annually.
Android users can restrict ad tracking or reset the advertising identifier. But the developer managed to bypass these settings. By relying on other device identifiers, Google is now attacking it.
Google announced these changes in an email to developers on the Google Play Store. "It hopes to give users better control over data and improve security and privacy," she wrote in the letter.
Google added that developers trying to access the advertising identifiers of those who opt out will receive a string of zeros instead of the identifier after review.
Google improves Android privacy:
Experts interpret the new policy introduced later this year as an attempt to compete with Apple.
Apple beefed up privacy last month by turning off standard tracking. Users are allowed to register as needed.
For years, Google has been telling the public that Android advertising identifiers are secure enough. However, a few weeks after Apple changed its privacy standards, it decided to make changes to better protect device identifiers.
The overhaul means billions of Android users can opt out of interest-based ads. This gives consumers more control while preventing marketers from accessing the data they rely on.
The policy change shows that Google has realized that unique identifiers are very sensitive, and is a step towards true anonymity on Android smartphones.
The search giant may see these changes in its best interest to manage the public's perception of privacy and competition with Apple, and to strengthen its control over users' devices and data.
However, enhancing the privacy of iPhone and Android users could give Google and Apple a lot of power.
These changes have a positive impact on the privacy of users in the domain. But there are big risks in another area. In fact, all sensitive data now belongs to Apple or Google.