Report: Google considering an iOS-style anti-tracking feature for Android

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It's still early, but Apple's new tracking restrictions on iOS sure seem to be causing headaches for the Internet ad industry. Just last week, Google told partners to expect a "significant impact" to ad revenue, while Facebook has launched an all-out war against Apple's tracking initiative and is reportedly considering legal action. Now, a new report from Bloomberg claims that Google, the world's largest Internet ad company... wants to do a similar thing on Android?

The report says that "the search giant is discussing how it can limit data collection and cross-app tracking on the Android operating system in a way that is less stringent than Apple's solution." This "less stringent" solution will be made after "seeking input" from stakeholders, over which Google's ad division will probably have a large influence.

Citing "people with knowledge of the matter," Bloomberg says the feature "won't require a prompt to opt in to data tracking like Apple's" and that "to keep advertisers happy while improving privacy, the discussions around Google's Android solution indicate that it could be similar to its planned Chrome web browser changes." Bloomberg also warns that the idea is in the early stages and might not happen at all.

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