Google Ad Tracking Technology Will Stay Alive Until 2024, Here's Why

JAKARTA - Alphabet Inc's Google said on Wednesday, February 16 that the tracking technology on Android phones that advertisers rely on will stay alive for at least the next two years. This is to ease speculation about their plans, after Apple Inc. rejected the industry's advertising by restricting similar tools.

Google said it would provide "substantial notice" before discontinuing what is known as AdId. But they will soon start seeking feedback on the proposed alternative, which Google says aims to better protect user privacy and curb covert surveillance.

Advertisers, app makers and hundreds of small ad tech companies are expecting a change to AdId after Apple, in April last year, forced software makers to ask users for permission to track behavior across multiple apps through a comparable tool, called IDFA.

Facebook owner Meta Platforms Inc. said this month it expects to lose $10 billion in ad sales this year because of Apple's policy change.

According to a Reuters report, IDFA and AdId have been helpful in determining relevant ads and identifying future purchases. But because users refuse tracking, advertisers cut spending. This is what makes Google and Facebook's revenue decline in 2021.

Google and Apple, which continue to compete to make the operating systems used in most of the world's smartphones and tablets, have faced pressure over the past few years from regulators and new laws to give users more control over app data collection.

Google said it would work with app makers such as Snap Inc and Activision Blizzard Inc to design tools that support ad targeting and logging clicks while limiting access to personal information.

A previous move by Google to eliminate tracking technology in its Chrome browser in late 2023, led some of the company's ad technology competitors to complain to competition authorities.

Last week, Google finalized a deal to have UK antitrust regulators monitor the Chrome project. Google said it would apply the principles of the agreement, including treating itself the same as its competitors on the Android platform.