Google begins next phase of Privacy Sandbox testing

In mid-February, Google announced that it has begun to test privacy-focused features on Android and on the web (via Chrome browser).

Now, the search engine giant has begun the next stage of Privacy Sandbox testing. The main intention of the initiative is that consumers will have more information and control of what private information is being tracked and can be blocked. Also, the website publisher and the app developers will be able to get to know user behaviour without actually infringing too much on the latter's individual privacy.

In layman's terms, Google unlike Apple wants to balance upholding user privacy and also not hurting the developers to generate revenue.

Apple over the past couple of years has aggressively pushed stricter user privacy policy and has given maximum control to the consumers to completely block the apps on their devices to track any type of private information, user behaviour and transaction details.

Must read | Apple brings App Tracking Transparency and more

But with the Google Privacy Sandbox initiative, the company will be offering handholding to the developers to test new methods to learn user behaviour without too much infringing on customers' privacy and check the attrition rate. The company can share the feedback publicly and also with Google to get help in developing an optimised advertising solution.

Google's Privacy Sandbox initiative for the web. Credit: Google

"Starting today, developers can begin testing globally the Topics, FLEDGE, and Attribution Reporting APIs in the Canary version of Chrome. We’ll progress to a limited number of Chrome Beta users as soon as possible. Once things are working smoothly in Beta, we’ll make API testing available in the stable version of Chrome to expand testing to more Chrome users," said Vinay Goel, Product Director, Privacy Sandbox, Chrome.

Several app developers such as Verse Innovation, HealthifyMe, and others have welcomed Google's Privacy Sandbox initiative.

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