Is off-site tracking on shakey ground?

Everyone is Blocking Google FLoC tracking
http://th3core.com/talk/traffic/brave-is-blocking-google-floc-tracking/msg72657/#msg72657

> Is off-site tracking on shakey ground?

Yes and it's increasing.

The threat factor to Google continues to rise.  Back in the day we accepted Google's 35 year cookie because they were still all warm and fuzzy and so not evil.  Well that cookie was tame compared to now and everything we learn about Google is waist deep in creepy.

Google is going to have to tap dance real hard.  Nobody knows what FB will do but probably self-inflicted blunt force trauma is a good bet.

Facebook used the pandemic to develop non-advertising business, while ad money kept pouring in - MarketWatch

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/facebook-used-the-pandemic-to-develop-non-advertising-business-while-ad-money-kept-pouring-in-11619549618

"adtech firm Blis says it has evidence from the first 24 hours of iOS 14.5 showing that when users were asked, 30% agreed to allow tracking but 70% said no.

There were wide variations between countries with 50% of US users agreeing to be tracked, compared with only 20% in the UK."

So how did users react when the mobile operating system, with its App Tracking Transparency, was released on Monday?

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-56928626

Facebook and Instagram notices in iOS apps tell users tracking helps keep them 'free of charge'

https://www.theverge.com/2021/5/2/22415824/facebook-instagram-notice-ios-apps-free-privacy-tracking

https://www.imore.com/facebook-and-instagram-threaten-charge-access-ios-145-unless-you-give-it-your-data

Just 4 percent of U.S. iPhone users opt in to ad tracking
https://mashable.com/article/ios-14-5-users-opt-out-of-ad-tracking/

"That rate has consistently been around 4 percent for users in the United States. It's significantly higher worldwide, with average daily opt-ins around 12 percent."

Android Developers Blog: New safety section in Google Play will give transparency into how apps use data

https://android-developers.googleblog.com/2021/05/new-safety-section-in-google-play-will.html

Your take on that?

It looks like Google is noticing people like me who were planning to switch to Android, but are hesitating as the privacy models diverge, so they have to do *something*, but beholden as they are to ad revenue, they want to make sure it's as little as possible.

I think G is being disingenuous. They are reacting to the negative brouhaha and, as you say, announcing *something* in the (kinda distant) future.  Meanwhile, they are moving to FloC and have enough popular services that they -like FB- could still cobble together a pretty good profile.  Waze, Chrome, ChromeOS, search ..the list of available in-house trackers goes on.

"a regulator in the nation said the company's attempt to make users agree to the practice in its updated terms isn't legal."

Facebook Ordered to Stop German WhatsApp Users' Data Collection - Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-05-11/facebook-ordered-to-stop-collecting-german-whatsapp-users-data

Wired - How Apple screwed facebook

https://www.wired.co.uk/article/apple-ios14-facebook

Getting to be a real pissing contest.

Apple Refused Request to Remove Negative Ratings for the Facebook App
https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-refused-request-remove-negative-ratings-for-facebook-app-2021-5

related

UK gov's Competition and Markets Authority watchdog to work with Google to stop Chrome tracking

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/jun/12/competition-watchdog-to-work-with-google-to-stop-chrome-tracking

Apple's App Tracking Transparency Framework Causing Advertisers to Spend More Money Targeting Android Users

https://www.macrumors.com/2021/07/05/att-causing-more-ad-spending-on-android/