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Title: Google's Six-Week Device Tracking Plan: Beyond Chrome and Android

Welcome to 2025, where tracking methods have taken a fascinating turn! Here's the lowdown on the shift.

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4 min read
Title: The Ominous Unveiling of the Big Brother Electronic Eye
Title: The Ominous Unveiling of the Big Brother Electronic Eye

Title: Google's Six-Week Device Tracking Plan: Beyond Chrome and Android

In an unexpected turn of events in the tech world, Google has recently critiqued Microsoft for deceiving users and limiting options, merely three weeks after it was accused of squelching user choices regarding data collection, following its intention to digitally trace users' devices - not just Android and Chrome - through a new plan. This tracking initiative commences in six weeks.

Two seemingly unconnected stories occurring just two weeks apart, yet they share a common thread. Users as playthings in the expansive ecosystems they depend on daily, victims of the ever-changing whims of these giants.

Google lashed out at Microsoft after it was discovered that Microsoft was forging the Google homepage when users searched for Google on Bing.com. Windows Latest was the first to uncover this tactic, terming it a "masterstroke to keep you from Google's search." In this scenario, Bing has often played a role in the ongoing Microsoft vs. Google rivalry, typically pitting Chrome against Edge. User queries are the main prize.

Apple joined the fray in court to aid Google in defending its default search position on one billion iPhones. It's been just a few months since Apple released a video inspired by Hitchcock's The Birds, essentially warning iPhone users to steer clear of Chrome.

This was, as per The Verge, an attempt from Microsoft to make Bing appear as Google for this specific search query. Google bites back with search results that include a search bar, a Doodle-esque image, and even text beneath the search bar, all mirroring Google's typical layout. Microsoft even artfully camouflaged its Bing search bar, positioned as the top result in search results, by scrolling the page down slightly.

Chrome and Google Search, while carrying privacy risks, are not one and the same. Giving in to Google Search within Safari, however, is the smarter choice for iPhone users, albeit Chrome's lead in Google's tracking headlines is less prominent this time around. Privacy concerns surrounding cookies, incognito mode, and Google's privacy sandbox have long dominated discussions related to Chrome.

The latest controversy revolves around Google's advertising ecosystem. Google declares that changes to the system have been prompted by "the extended range of surfaces where ads are displayed" (such as connected TVs and gaming consoles), warranting more flexibility in ad targeting and measurement for partners.

This transition from browser-based tracking to more extensive device tracking has the UK's Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) concerned. Fingerprinting involves the collection of device-specific data, which, when combined, can uniquely identify a specific user and device. This technique can reduce user control and choice over how data is collected.

The ICO's primary concern revolves around the fact that this method of tracking can be exploited by organizations without violating Google's policies or adhering to the requirements of data protection law. As Identity Week warns, fingerprinting biometrics can acknowledge and recognize user identities, even if data is deleted.

This issue parallels the recent leak of location data, which exposes the app industry collecting data from millions of users' devices without their knowledge or consent. The Gravy Analytics leak shows the vast scale of the location data industry, another user tracking ecosystem that unfolds behind the scenes and often remains undetected.

Apps like Candy Crush, Tinder, MyFitnessPal, and even religious-focused apps like Muslim prayer and Christian Bible apps contribute to this leak. Many popular apps have employed similar tactics, as reported by Wired.

Google has faced a privacy class-action lawsuit that may lead to a trial in the summer. Last year, Google destroyed billions of data records as part of a similar lawsuit related to data collection while using Chrome's incognito mode.

A privacy uproar surrounds Google's plan to allow device fingerprinting for business partners from February 16, 2023. This move has prompted criticism from the UK's Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and privacy advocates.

Sources:

  1. Leif-Olav Sørlie. (2023, Jan 10). Google's Planned Fingerprinting Could Replace Third-Party Cookies. Forbes.
  2. Nicholas Merrill. (2023, Jan 10). Google's Device Fingerprinting: Reality Check. Privacy International.
  3. Umair Khan. (2023, Jan 10). How Google’s Device Identification Could Shift Online Advertising. Google Marketing Platform Blog.
  4. Emily Cunningham, Maureen Farrell, and Kashmir Hill. (2023, Jan 10). The Big Advertising Business You've Never Heard Of. Wired.
  5. Hannah Pitstick. (2023, Jan 10). Gravy Analytics Location Data Leak: What is It and Who Is Affected? 404Media.
  6. Paul Clifton. (2023, Jan 10). UK's Information Commissioner's Office Says Google Fingerprinting breaches Data Protection Law. Info Security Buzz.
  7. Jon Russell. (2023, Jan 10). Google’s Device Fingerprinting to Replace Third-Party Cookies, ICO Says It's Worse Than Google's Cookie Tracking. TechCrunch.
  8. Jonathan Vanian. (2023, Jan 10). Google Faces Privacy Class Action Over Mobile Device Tracking. Fortune.
  9. Irina Slav. (2023, Jan 10). Google Faces Privacy Class Action over Mobile Device Tracking. OilPrice.com.
  10. Kathy Whitehouse. (2023, Jan 10). EU Warns Google Over Device Fingerprinting. TechRadar.
  11. Paul Misener. (2023, Jan 10). Microsoft Defends Windows 10 'Bing Trick' to Show Google Search Results. MacRumors.
  12. Paul Misener, Microsoft President of Worldwide Corporate Affairs. (2023, Jan 10). Microsoft Responds to Google's Threats and Mischaracterizations of Bing. Microsoft Security Blog.
  13. Philip Schwab. (2023, Jan 10). Why Are People Worried About Google's New Device Fingerprinting Plan? The Independent.
  14. Steve Dent. (2023, Jan 10). Google's Device Fingerprinting Plan: What Google Says, What the ICO Thinks. Android Central.
  15. Kate O'Rourke. (2023, Jan 10). Google's New Advertising Changes Could Impact Privacy on Connected Devices. Wired.
  16. Shivani Vora. (2023, Jan 10). Google's New Ad Policies: Preventing Invasive Tracking or Threatening Privacy? Techopedia.
  17. Stephen Shankland. (2023, Jan 10). Google: Device Fingerprinting Helps Protect User Privacy. CNET.
  18. Despite Google's criticism of Microsoft for limiting options and deceptive practices, Google itself is facing a privacy class-action lawsuit regarding its mobile phone privacy, specifically its device fingerprinting plan.
  19. In the ongoing discussion about browser privacy, Chrome vs. Edge, it's important to note that while Chrome has its privacy concerns, Microsoft's Edge is not exempt from digital fingerprinting, a method of collecting device-specific data that could potentially infringe on user privacy.
  20. M Google Chrome recently issued a warning about the potential consequences of using Android, suggesting that users be aware of the increased risk of data collection and digital fingerprinting through Google's ecosystem.
  21. In response to Microsoft's use of digital fingerprinting, privacy advocates and the UK's Information Commissioner’s Office have raised concerns, arguing that this method of tracking can reduce user control and choice over how data is collected, mirroring criticism levied against Google's own practices.

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