Against Apple, Google unleashes its Android Privacy Sandbox

While Apple’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT) can improve the lives of millions of iPhone users, many companies aren’t thrilled with the Cupertino company’s lockdown. Last month, Facebook warned investors that the pop-up alert was costing the company about $10 billion a year. This time, it’s Google’s turn to criticize the ineffectiveness of Apple’s ATT and at the same time announce its own Privacy Sandbox function, which the supplier intends to integrate into Android in 2024 at the earliest. According to the Mountain View firm, the feature will limit the sharing of personal data with third-party apps, reduce attempts to secretly collect data, and provide a more secure solution for apps to integrate with advertising SDKs.

But overall, the message posted on a blog by Google remains very vague and the arguments unconvincing. He claims that the change brought about by this feature will be truly significant. As it stands, Android already offers users the ability to opt out of targeted ads, as well as a Privacy Dashboard showing per-app permissions. But we are far from what Apple’s opt-in tools offer. According to Google, the choice is voluntary. Without citing Apple’s name, the vendor takes aim at other platforms that outright restrict existing technologies used by developers and advertisers. While the ATT system disables all cross-app tracking and requires apps to ask users for consent if they wish, Google says Android’s Privacy Sandbox will provide an alternative path to both preserve privacy and provide effective and privacy-friendly advertising solutions, as well as tools for developers and businesses to achieve these goals.

With Apple’s App Tracking Transparency, a single button is all it takes to turn off app tracking in iOS. (Credit: IDG)

A full-blown attack on Apple’s App Tracking Transparency

To support its criticism, Google refers to a study on the effectiveness of Apple’s App Tracking Transparency conducted by Lockdown Privacy. The report concludes that ATT made no difference to the total number of active third-party trackers and had a minimal impact on the total number of third-party tracker login attempts. He also says the feature has proven to be useless in stopping third-party tracking, even when users explicitly choose “Ask App Not To Track.” These findings, based on 10 leading apps including Yelp, Starbucks and Grubhub, show that Apple applies a narrow definition of tracking that is misleading, counterintuitive and confusing, and incentivizes less transparency, creating more privacy risks. By contrast, Google plans to provide regular updates to designs and schedules, while working closely with developers and regulators.

Google’s chief privacy officer, Anthony Chavez, told the Wall Street Journal that the company doesn’t have to choose between protecting privacy and allowing developers to promote. their activities. In one of the changes being considered, Android devices could track app usage and analyze it on their devices, rather than sending raw information to outside companies. This is a clear difference from Apple’s method. However, while Apple will strengthen its ATT over iOS updates, Google promises to support the advertising platform’s existing features for at least two years.