Google is now testing more privacy-friendly advertising for Android
Google is now testing its more privacy-friendly advertising on smartphones. The system is called the ‘Privacy Sandbox’ and a small group of testers has been selected by Google to be the first to test it. We explain how you know if you belong to that test group and how the beta works.
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New advertising in Android apps
Smartphone users simply love free apps, but because ‘truly free’ simply does not exist, many apps contain advertising. That advertising is almost always targeted and composed on the basis of your personal interest.
That model is under increasing pressure from a privacy point of view, as Google itself stated last year when it proposed the Privacy Sandbox for Android. A new model that better respects users’ privacy, according to the internet giant. This new form of advertising is available from today for the first testers who use a phone with Android 13. You will receive a notification on your phone if you have been selected for the test.
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This is how the Privacy Sandbox works
But how does it work? We explain it with an example. You have probably noticed, just after reading articles about new smartphones, that advertisements about new phones and from carriers pop up just a few moments later. That can make you feel uncomfortable, as if advertisers are following you closely. It is precisely that feeling among users that Google wants to pierce.
With the Privacy Sandbox, all your internet activities are divided into categories. Suppose you read articles about telephones and the new advertising model concludes that you are interested in technology. Based on that less specific data, advertisements are then shown in Android apps. If you don’t read about phones for a while, you’re no longer in the technology category.
The new system should ensure that advertisers cannot easily build up a kind of complete profile about users. The new APIs from Google feed them with less concrete information about the user. Although many critics openly question this claim by Google.
You can do this as a tester
Google has been tinkering with its new APIs for a long time and it does so in consultation with advertisers. Based on their feedback, Google has now prepared the beta. If you have a phone with Android 13 and you have been chosen to test the new system, you will have access to a new settings menu on your phone regarding the Privacy Sandbox.
The intention is that these settings give you more control over the new advertising system. You can be the first to temporarily reject the beta test of the Privacy Sandbox with a switch. Of course, Google does not force users to participate. In addition, you can also see on the basis of which categories you will see advertisements. You can also block certain categories if you do not want to see advertisements about them.
Availability
It is not yet entirely clear when Google will switch from the old Advertising ID to the Privacy Sandbox. That will take at least another year, according to information that Google previously shared. The company also announced that the Privacy Sandbox should replace Chrome’s browser cookies by 2024. What is your impression of the Privacy Sandbox? Do you like the categorization and the ability to block topics? Let us know in the comments.
