Google plans more Android privacy, but it’s nothing like Apple’s controversial anti-tracking on iPhones

Apple released two great privacy features in iOS 14. The amount of opposition the company received from Facebook in the past few months is a clear indicator of how scary they are for companies that collect user data for advertising. First, iOS 14 enabled the new privacy labels that show users how much personal data an app collects on the iPhone or iPad. This is only an informational feature that has no impact on a developer’s ability to collect user data, and iOS users have to search for it on App Store listings in order to see it. Then came the new anti-tracking feature that Apple enabled with its iOS 14.5 update a few months ago. This one forces all developers to ask for permission to track users across apps on iPhone and iPad — unsurprisingly, most people ask apps not to track them if given the chance.

Facebook might have been the most vocal about these new iPhone privacy features, but Google and other companies that deal in advertising will be equally impacted. Google also happens to own the world’s most popular mobile operating system, however, which forces it to respond to these privacy initiatives. A new report says Google may soon make it harder for companies to track users on Android, but Google isn’t exactly ready to match Apple’s initiatives. If anything, the new move raises questions about the current privacy protections in place on Android.