Android launches yet another way to spy on users with “Privacy Sandbox” beta

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Apple blew up the advertising market in 2020 when it gave tracking an opt-in feature on iOS. Since then, Google—the world's biggest advertiser—has been slow to roll out its solution for Android and Chrome. The idea that Google has come up with is called the "Privacy Sandbox," which sounds like a good thing, but it's a new tracking system for Android and Chrome. Once that is up and running, only then does Google say it will start blocking existing tracking methods like third-party cookies.

The company's latest progress report is that the Privacy Sandbox is coming to Android, in beta. Google says, "The Privacy Sandbox for Android Beta will roll out gradually, starting with a small percentage of Android 13 devices, and will expand over time. If your device is selected for the Beta, you’ll receive an Android notification letting you know."

Privacy Sandbox, on Chrome and Android, tracks users by interest groups rather than individually, which Google claims is a privacy improvement. Android will soon build an advertising profile of you, and the user interface will let you block "interests" you don't want to see ads for. There's an off switch and a list of apps that plug into the new tracking system—presumably anything using a new build of the Google Ads API.

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