Google plans to change Android app tracking in a bid to improve user privacy
CNN
Google plans to develop new privacy measures that remove the ability to track users across apps on Android devices, potentially rattling digital advertising-based businesses like Facebook that have already been disrupted by app tracking changes introduced by Apple last year.
Google said Wednesday that it is launching a multi-year effort to build privacy-focused advertising solutions that will limit the sharing of user data with third parties. These solutions will operate without the individual identifiers that allow developers to track user activity across various mobile apps and enable them to create ads targeted to a user's behavior and interests. Google (GOOGL) said it is also exploring technologies that would reduce the potential for a user's data to be collected without their knowledge.
The announcement — which comes as Google and other Big Tech companies face mounting regulatory scrutiny for privacy concerns and other issues — was light on specific details about how the new system would work. But it was enough to unnerve some investors in companies reliant on targeted digital advertising. Shares of Facebook-parent Meta (FB), Snap (SNAP), Twitter (TWTR) and Pinterest (PINS) all dipped in early trading Wednesday following the announcement.
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