Privacy Sandbox on Android to limit cross-app tracking

With a stated motivation of balancing the preservation of privacy and the business interests of developers, Google has come up with design proposals to offer better privacy options for mobile apps.  Acknowledging that most mobile apps on Google Play are free and rely on digital advertising, Google recognizes the need for a balance between privacy interests and a digital ecosystem that relies on data and advertising.

On Wednesday, February 16, 2022, Google announced the launch of “a multi-year initiative to build the Privacy Sandbox on Android.”  They want to provide new private advertising solutions.  These solutions will limit sharing of user data with third parties and not utilize cross-app identifiers.  They are also looking into ways to prevent covert data collection.

The Privacy Sandbox is something that Google has been working on for a while for typical web browsing.  Through the Privacy Sandbox, they’ve been seeking alternatives for cookies.  They came up with Federated Learning of Cohorts (FLoC), but have since moved away from it.  Their most recent Privacy Sandbox plan is Topics.  Google will ostensibly use some of the same strategies and lessons learned from the Privacy Sandbox’s history to apply to their newest Privacy Sandbox effort on Android.

Google intends to use alternatives to strictly blocking existing tracking technologies.  They want to consider alternatives that can still maintain user privacy.  Google pointed to a study that indicated that Apple’s App Tracking Transparency is being circumvented, with no decrease in the total number of active third-party trackers and only a minor impact on the number of third-party tracking connection attempts.  The study also revealed that personal and/or device data was being sent to the trackers.  The study’s results held true even when users toggled: “Ask App Not To Track.”

Google’s course may be a psychologically pragmatic approach.  Perhaps recognizing that measures which are too draconian will lead people to ignore the rules altogether, Google is going for a softer approach which will lead to some privacy improvements on paper, and actual privacy improvements in fact, because developers will actually comply with ‘more reasonable’ rules in place.

An advantage to earning actual compliance is that users have a better understanding of the disposition of their personal information.  In a circumstance in which users are told that one thing is happening to their information, but something else is in fact happening to their information, they don’t even know what further steps they should be taking to protect their privacy.  With clarity about the disposition of their personal information, they can at least act appropriate to preserve their privacy.

Clarip’s fully automated cookie compliance and management solution allows companies to manage cookies, beacons, and trackers across thousands of websites, apps, domains and third party vendors. Detect and track all trackers, including the ones found on restricted pages, member portals, beyond logins, authorization pages, and IAM portals. Clarip provides companies solutions to empower their users in their quest for privacy.  We help companies by providing automated data subject request fulfillment.  We also provide data mapping, website scanning, vendor, and consent management.  Visit us at www.clarip.com or call us at 1-888-252-5653 to learn more. Email Now:

Email Now:

Mike Mango, VP of Sales
mmango@clarip.com