Google recently announced that beginning later this year, for Android 12, Android devices will “zero-out” the Google Advertising ID (“GAID”) for users who have opted out of tracking and personalized advertising. (In other words, using the “Opt out of Ads Personalization” settings). Specifically, according to Google:
“This Google Play services phased rollout will affect apps running on Android 12 devices starting late 2021 and will expand to affect apps running on devices that support Google Play in early 2022.”
Currently, when the user opts-out, the GAID is still transmitted, and third parties are permitted to use the GAID for non-advertising purposes, such as attribution, analytics, and fraud detection. However, once the new policy is in force, the GAID will only show a string of zeros as opposed to the GAID. To assist developers and service providers with the transition, the policy change will undergo a period of review and coordination among relevant stakeholders.
We will continue to monitor these developments and provide updates as they come about.
