Later this year, Google will begin preventing advertisers and developers from accessing a device’s advertising ID when users opt out of personalized ads, reflecting the controversial changes (which are controversial for advertisers anyway) Apple introduced in iOS 14.5. However, while you wait, you can immediately turn off personalized ads on all Android devices by preemptively turning off ad tracking.
Advertisers use your unique advertising ID to create personalized ads based on your internet browsing history, app usage and other activity. That’s why you seem to get incredibly accurate ads in every app you use. Companies also use these IDs to collect data on how people use their software and services – and those of their competitors.
However after a current Google support update, “The advertising ID is removed if a user declines personalization with the advertising ID in the Android settings. Any attempt to access the identifier will receive a sequence of zeros instead of the identifier. ”The new policy will come into effect for“ Android 12 devices from late 2021 and will be extended to apps that run on devices running Google Support Play “.
Apple introduced it in early 2021 a similar change to iOS 14.5 This requires apps to ask for tracking permissions during installation and allows users to completely opt out of tracking in the iOS setting. The wording in the Google Support update implies that Android 12 must ask apps for similar permissions. The update also states that Google plans to notify users of system notifications once the privacy change is implemented – but why wait?
How to turn off personalized ads on Android now
It is very easy to deactivate personalized advertising on your Android smartphone: simply switch on the setting “Deactivate personalization of ads”. However, the setting is in different places depending on the manufacturer and Android operating system version of your device. Therefore, it can be difficult to find if you don’t already know where it is. Here’s where to look:
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- Most phones have the option in the Settings app under Google> Services> Ads.
- Other devices may have it under Settings> Privacy> Advanced> Advertising.
- If you have the Google Settings app installed on your phone, you can find the option in the app under Services> Ads.
- If none of these work, look for “Deactivation of personalized advertising” using the search bar in the settings app of your Android device and it should appear.
Once you’ve found that “Deactivating the personalization of advertisements” Tap the slider to turn it on (make sure it’s blue). While your Advertiser ID won’t be hidden until Android 12 and the Play Store update roll out later this year, it’s worth turning it on now to stop tracking asap and stop you from doing so see personalized ads in your apps.
[Tech2]
