Google to limit tracking in Android apps, starting next year

Google IO 2021
(Image credit: Google)

Google has announced that it will be putting its Privacy Sandbox into Beta stage across Android 13 systems from early 2023, which will include limits to apps' abilities to track user data for advertising purposes.

The sandbox seeks to preserve user data available to advertisers, whilst concurrently respecting individual privacy. Perhaps Google is finally taking a leaf out of Apple’s book and taking note of consumer demand for it.

Having been in development since February this year, Google has been working with app developers and marketing specialists on the Privacy Sandbox and is now ready to begin implementation.

New APIs 

DuckDuckGo's App Tracking Protection

(Image credit: DuckDuckGo)

As is common with Android software updates, the Sandbox will be available to a select few devices at first, before rolling out to the wider Android market. 

App developers will be able to gain access to preview builds to test out and provide feedback on the latest features. A closed Beta for the SDK runtime will also be available, which will exclude apps from using code related to advertising, so no marketing data for will be available to apps.

Currently, Android apps use covert tracking methods. With the new Privacy Sandbox, however, various APIs will replace these.

The Attribution Reporting API, for instance, eradicates cross-party user identifiers., by employing obfuscation techniques and limiting the amount of data available for reports.

Another is the Topics API, which allows personalized interest-based ads to function without tracking multiple apps used by individuals. 

There is also the Fledge API, which limits the sharing of identifiers and app usage information when advertisers attempt to remarket to those who have shown a potential interest in their products, such as when they leave an item in their checkout basket. 

These APIs are set to replace advertising IDs, which uniquely identify individual users and have long been a staple of Android devices. 

The Privacy Sandbox has already been met with some backlash, though. Two privacy-focused internet companies, DuckDuckGo and Brave, have their reservations about Google’s plans. 

The former believes that these new APIs will still track user data, just indirectly, and the latter thinks the plans will actually “harm Web privacy, and further cement Google’s control over the Web.” 

  • Don't want to be tracked on the web? See our best VPN picks
TOPICS
Lewis Maddison
Reviews Writer

Lewis Maddison is a Reviews Writer for TechRadar. He previously worked as a Staff Writer for our business section, TechRadar Pro, where he had experience with productivity-enhancing hardware, ranging from keyboards to standing desks. His area of expertise lies in computer peripherals and audio hardware, having spent over a decade exploring the murky depths of both PC building and music production. He also revels in picking up on the finest details and niggles that ultimately make a big difference to the user experience.

Read more
Fingerprint
Profit over privacy? Google gives advertisers more personal info in major ‘fingerprinting’ U-turn
Browser
The future of mobile browsers: time for a new model?
Photograph of a woman looking at map on a smartphone
How to use location apps without leaving a trail of data and getting followed everywhere you go
Conceptual image with a bunch of floating eyeballs in different sizes overlooking a red computer, could symbolize ideas around malware and computer viruses
Accept all or bust: how cookie walls are creating a two-tier internet
Android 15 logo on a phone, in a hand
Google is working on its own version of Apple’s Hide My Email, and you might soon be able to try it yourself
Young woman holds a smartphone with a beam of light obscuring her eyes
Privacy powerhouses: 5 apps to take your online security to the next level
Latest in Security
Microsoft
"Another pair of eyes" - Microsoft launches all-new Security Copilot Agents to give security teams the upper hand
Lock on Laptop Screen
Medusa ransomware is able to disable anti-malware tools, so be on your guard
An abstract image of digital security.
Fake file converters are stealing info, pushing ransomware, FBI warns
Insecure network with several red platforms connected through glowing data lines and a black hat hacker symbol
Coinbase targeted after recent Github attacks
hacker.jpeg
Key trusted Microsoft platform exploited to enable malware, experts warn
IBM office logo
IBM to provide platform for flagship cyber skills programme for girls
Latest in News
Zendesk Relate 2025
Zendesk Relate 2025 - everything you need to know as the event unfolds
Disney Plus logo with popcorn
You can finally tell Disney+ to stop bugging you about that terrible Marvel show you regret starting
Google Gemini AI
Gemini can now see your screen and judge your tabs
Girl wearing Meta Quest 3 headset interacting with a jungle playset
Latest Meta Quest 3 software beta teases a major design overhaul and VR screen sharing – and I need these updates now
Philips Hue
Philips Hue might be working on a video doorbell, and according to a new report, we just got our first look at it
Microsoft
"Another pair of eyes" - Microsoft launches all-new Security Copilot Agents to give security teams the upper hand