The latest version of the Google Chrome browser introduced the Privacy Sandbox API, a set of technologies for displaying and analyzing ads. This means that website developers can access these interfaces directly and serve ads relevant to their interests to users of compatible browsers.
Image source: google.com/chrome
In other words, websites can now directly ask Chrome what topics the user is interested in (which are automatically selected based on their browsing history) to show them personalized ads based on their actions. This is believed to be better than tracking people using files cookie, whose support will now dwindle. Google Chrome is the main tool that runs the Privacy Sandbox. The Chromium-based Microsoft Edge browser also shows signs of Chromium support; Apple and Mozilla have refused to implement at least the Topics API component.
A British source writes that data protection as defined by Google does not correspond to the traditional definition of the word. The registry. It is no longer a binary state of privacy or not, but a conditional consent-based information trade to gain access to ad-supported content. According to Google’s understanding, the tools of the Privacy Sandbox API protect the user’s identity somewhat more reliably than cookies.
Image source: Myriam Jessier / unsplash.com
Here are the tools included in the Privacy Sandbox API:
- Themes or “themes” are locally tracked user interests generated by the browser based on their browsing history;
- Protected Audience (FLEDGE) – a mechanism for displaying ads based on remarketing (e.g. showing ads for shoes after visiting an online shoe store);
- Attribution reports or “attribution reports” – data that enables you to link clicks to conversion events such as sales;
- Private aggregation or “private aggregation” – the creation of summary reports based on the “protected audience” data between sites from the “common repository”;
- Shared Storage or “Shared Storage” – allows unlimited access to write cross-site data while maintaining confidentiality; that is, the user himself gives permission to store data on his computer for advertising purposes;
- Fenced Frames or “Fenced Frames” – securely embedding content on a page without sharing data between websites, i.e. an iframe without security and privacy risks.
All these means, Google and its partners are sure of it, will make it possible to stop working with third-party cookies as early as next year, while maintaining advertising revenue. Other market participants categorically reject such a question. For example, the activist group Movement for an Open Web opposes the refusal of cookies. In their version of Google, through their actions, they block the ability to work with traditional public technology and force advertisers and advertising platforms to use only their means, thereby creating a monopoly.
Also noteworthy is the difference in the innovation approaches in different countries. In the US, where the well-being of ad agencies is traditionally more important than consumer privacy, the popup merely notifies the latter that new APIs have come into force and they are already active – you’ll have to search for them in settings to disable them itself. In Europe, on the other hand, users are encouraged to activate the Topics API themselves.
Add Comment