Recall that the Apple App Tracking Transparency feature, which appeared in iOS 14, requires that applications, when launched, receive explicit consent from users to collect data before tracking their actions on websites and in applications. 

Google is trying to balance the growing demands of privacy-conscious consumers with developers and advertisers’ financial needs. The company seeks input from these stakeholders, similar to how it is gradually developing a new privacy standard for web browsing called Privacy Sandbox.

With over $ 100 billion in digital ad sales annually, Google has a vested interest in helping partners continue to generate revenue by targeting ads to Android users and measuring these marketing initiatives’ effectiveness.

“We’re always looking for ways to work with developers to raise the bar on privacy while building a healthy ecosystem of ad-supported apps, ” a Google spokesman said in a statement.

Unlike Apple’s new App Tracking Transparency, Google’s decision is likely to be less stringent and won’t require a request to enable data tracking as Apple did. Research into an alternative to Apple’s feature is still in its early stages, and Google has yet to decide when and how to make the change.