How to disable Android's new Ads Privacy features
Google Android users may see a new message after the installation of updates that informs them that new ads privacy features are available. Google claims that the new features improve user privacy when applications display advertisement on Android devices.
The three core parts of the Ads privacy are "Ad topics", "App-suggested ads" and "Ad measurement". Ad topics are automatically assigned to the user of the device based on application usage. These predefined categories, such as Sports or Shopping, may change based on usage on the device. Applications that want to display ads to the user may request information about the assigned topics to display matching advertisement. Google notes that the apps do not get other information about the user. Android users may block certain topics on their devices so that the ad topic is never assigned.
App-suggested ads works similarly, only that applications that a user uses may suggest ad topics. These may then be used by other applications on the device. Android users may block apps from suggesting ads and also reset the entire list of suggestions from ads.
Ad measurement, finally, provides apps and advertisers with information that helps them "measure the performance of their ads".
Android users may manage all three options on their devices, once the features are integrated on the devices. Chrome users may notice the resemblance to Chrome's implementation, as it includes similar features. If Android users enable the features on their devices and also in Chrome, information may be shared between the browser, the system and advertisers.
Android users may disable all Ad Privacy features on their device. While that does not mean that they will see fewer ads, it does block Google's incentive and may prevent it from getting even more control over advertising on the Internet.
Tip: check out the article on the Privacy Sandbox integration in Google Chrome for additional information on this.
How to Disable Ads Privacy features on Android
The options are found in the Settings, but the path to the settings may differ (slightly) based on the manufacturer of the device. The following is the path on Samsung devices:
- Open the Settings on the device.
- Select Security and Privacy.
- Activate Privacy on the page that opens.
- Select Other privacy settings on the next page.
- Open Ads on the page that opens.
- Select Ads privacy.
- Tap on Ad topics and toggle the switch to Off to disable it, then go back to the previous page.
- Tap on App-suggested ads and toggle the switch to Off to disable the feature, then go back to the previous page.
- Tap on Ad measurement and flip the switch to Off to disable it, then go back to the previous page.
All three Ads privacy features should have the status Off now. Note that you may also turn the features on at any time, if you want to.
Now You: do you plan to keep the Ads privacy features enabled?
Thanks for the tip Martin.
It is for these kinds of posts that I follow GHacks.
What’s up with the generic comment, are you a bot?
2G?
Where on the planet is that still in use? I was forced to give up using my RAZRV3 years ago because 2G was phased out by AT&T.
Everywhere 3G has been turned off and you don’t have LTE coverage, and believe me there are many developed countries where this is the case and if it weren’t for 2G you wouldn’t even be able to make a phone call.
Maybe I missed it, but I don’t believe tha term “2G” is in the article. Perhaps you are referring to “AGM G2”??
@Martin
Your website has gone insane.
When I the post button I then saw my comment posted on a different article page. When I opened this article again, it is here.
@Tachy @Martin Brinkmann
” Your website has gone insane. ”
Same here. Has happened several times.
@Tachy,
@Martin P.,
For over two weeks now,
I’ve been seeing “Comments” posted by subscribers appearing in different, unrelated articles.
https://www.ghacks.net/windows-11-update-stuck-fixed-for-good/#comment-4572991
https://www.ghacks.net/windows-11-update-stuck-fixed-for-good/#comment-4572951
For the time being,
it would be better to specify the “article name and URL” at the beginning of the post.
@tachy a lot of non-phone devices with a sim in them rely on 2G, at least here in europe.
Usually things reporting usage or errors/alarms on something remote that does not get day to day inspection in person. They are out there in vast numbers doing important work. Reliable, good range. The low datarate is no problem at all in those cases.
3G is gone or on its last legs everywhere, but this stuff still has too much use to cancel.
Anyhow, interesting that they would put that in. I can see the point if you suspect a hostile 2G environment (amateur eavesdroppers with laptop, ranging up to professional grade MITM fake towers while “strangely” not getting the stronger crypto voip 4G because it is being jammed, and back down to something as old ‘stingray’ devices fallen into the wrong hands).
But does this also mean that they have handled and rolled out a fix for that nasty 4G ‘pwn by broadcast’ problem you reported earlier this year? I had 4G disabled due to that, on the off chance that some of the local criminals would buy some cheap chinese gear, download a working exploit and probe every phone in range all over town in the hope of getting into phones of the police.
>”While most may never be attacked in stingrays, it is still recommended to disable 2G cellular connections, especially since it does not have any downsides.”
The downside would be losing connectivity. I spend a lot of time way out in the countryside where there’s often no service or almost none. My network allows 2G, and I need it sometimes. I have an option on the phone to disable 2G, I may do that when I’m in the city and I have good 5G connectivity, but not out in the country.
I would imagine that the stingray exploits, like most of the bad things in this world, are probably things you will run into in the crowded big cities.
I stopped using it in a mobile (Wi-Fi line) environment, so I’m almost ignorant of the actual situation,
But the recent reality in Japan makes me realize that “the infrastructure of the web is nothing more than a papier-mâché fiction”.
https://www.ghacks.net/2023/08/17/google-chrome-to-enable-https-first-by-default-for-all-users/#comment-4572402
It is already beyond the scope of what an individual can do.
What we should be aware of is the reality that “governments and those in power want to control the world through the Web”, and efforts to counter (resist and prevent) such ambitions are necessary.
Why do you want people to disable the privacy features? Hmmmmm?
Now You: do you plan to keep the Ads privacy features enabled?
I’d like to tell you, but apparently if you make a post critical of Google, you get censored. * [Editor: removed, just try to bring your opinion across without attacking anyone]
@Martin
You website is still psychotic. Comments attach to random stories.
@Martin please do fix the comments, it’s completely insane commenting here! :[
@Martin
The comments are seriously messed up on gHacks now. These comments are mixed with the article at the below URL.
https://www.ghacks.net/2023/08/18/android-how-to-disable-2g-cellular-connections-to-improve-security/
And comments on other articles are from as far back as 2010.
What does this article has anything to do with all the comments on this article? LOL I think this Websuite is ran by ChatGPT. every article is messed up. Some older comments from 2015 shown up in recant articles, LOL
The picture captioned “Clearing the Android Auto’s cache might resolve the issue” is from Apple Carplay ;)
How about other things that matter:
Drop survival?
Screen toughness?
Degree of water and dust protection?