Toothless Android privacy sandbox fails to meet iOS tracking restrictions

Google is announcing the “Android Privacy Sandbox “today. The company says it will be a “multi-year initiative”to bring “more private advertising solutions”to Android. After Apple allowed tracking in iOS 14, Android wants to be seen as the equal of its main competitor. Today’s announcement is an addition to existing ad systems, not a replacement, so it’s likely to be even less effective than Chrome’s Privacy Sandbox.

Apple’s change tracking has exploded the advertising industry and has already cost advertising companies like Facebook $10 billion in annual revenue. Google, the world’s largest advertising company, doesn’t seem to want to do this on Android.

Here’s how Google feels about iOS 14 on their blog:

We understand that other platforms take a different approach to ad privacy by drastically limiting existing technologies used by developers and advertisers. We believe that without first providing an alternative privacy path, such approaches may be ineffective and lead to worse consequences for user privacy and developer business.

(Google didn’t explain why it thought blocking Apple’s unique identifiers was the “worst result for user privacy.”)

This is a setting for the Android Privacy Sandbox. The specifics of Google’s plan are still unclear, because even the beta version will not be released until the end of 2022. The Android Developers site has several design suggestions for what a privacy-preserving ad system might look like. Chrome’s theme API is here, which will share a list of user interests with advertisers when they request so that advertisers can serve relevant ads. The new Android FLEDGE API tracks user behavior within the app and organizes them into groups for “individual audience targeting.”Google says developers will be able to create groups like “leave item in cart”and show specific ads to those users.

So far, we haven’t covered anything that actually reduces tracking. To do this, there is the “SDK Runtime “, a sandbox for ad-related SDKs that Google says will “reduce undisclosed access and sharing of user app data”for “compatible SDKs”. The idea is that developers can package a “Runtime Enabled SDK”with limited permissions instead of a traditional ad SDK that has the same access as the main app.

Can advertisers sign up for privacy improvements?

The bit about it being a “compatible SDK”sandbox is a big snag for the SDK Runtime and Android Privacy Sandbox. It’s not obligatory. Chrome’s privacy sandbox, even if it’s a lightweight privacy solution, at least starts by blocking third-party cookies. Existing tracking methods in Chrome will be blocked, and Google is offering an alternative solution that will have some (again, toned down) privacy benefits. Google has not announced plans to block or restrict any existing tracking methods on Android. Android apps have a lot more privileges than websites and developers can ignore this and include an ad SDK that doesn’t use the SDK sandbox.

As far as what a real privacy solution might look like, apps can include whatever code they want, so it’s hard to imagine a technical solution for tracking ads. Like Apple, Google can artificially restrict ad SDKs through the Play Store and announce that any app that doesn’t use the ad sandbox SDK will be blocked from the store.

The Play Store regularly imposes similar restrictions on apps: the minimum supported Android API level increases every year, forcing developers to support the latest Android features and limitations. Google has also tried to use the Play Store to ban apps that use the Accessibility APIs in ways it doesn’t like.

While using the Play Store would be a possible solution, it would be difficult for Google to restrict Android advertising without incurring the wrath of regulators. Google has already advertised “We are also committed to working closely with regulators”at the end of their blog post without even promising any actual restrictions.

Since Google is not making any privacy changes mandatory, it is essentially asking advertising companies to voluntarily stop collecting user data. If advertisers wanted it, they could make this change today. Advertisers don’t actually have to wait for a technical solution to be completed.