Google previews its latest privacy-minded solution for apps serving you targeted ads
Google announced it wasbringing Privacy Sandbox to Androidback in February in an attempt to boost user privacy without, as we said at the time, “pulling an Apple.” While Apple’s updated app tracking policy forced every app to ask users for permission to be tracked — causing a drop as high as 20% in ad revenue — Google is attempting to meet advertisers halfway. The company is slowly rolling out its new policy, hoping to keep personalized ads around with more privacy for end-users. Today, Google announced its firstPrivacy Sandbox developer previewis live.
This launchis the first step in the company’s “multi-year initiative” to give a big privacy boost to ads on Android. Google says today’s release — based on Android 13 — includes a number of platform APIs and services not included in this week’s beta, and as such, it’s being offered as its own platform. Developers can access system images that include the latest Privacy Sandbox APIs, including theTopics API that replaced the now-defunct FLoC proposals. As announced in January,Topicsis designed to add randomization, additional filters, and localized data processing into the mix, providing additional privacy to users while still allowing ad providers to target and personalize ads.
Today’s release includes device system images for the Pixel 4 and newer devices, though developers will need tomanually downloadand flash these builds to get up and running. It also includes the Android SDK and 64-bit Android Emulator system images bundled with Privacy Sandbox APIs. Google has some sample code hosted on itsGithub pagefor developers to preview, showing off how the Topics API works in action.
This is just the first release for the Privacy Sandbox developer preview. The company intends to update it throughout the next few months with both Attribution Reporting and FLEDGE APIs. As always, Google is stressing the need fordeveloper feedbackin order to avoid the same fallout brought about by Apple.
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