How to Remove Advertising ID on Android
Apps and advertisers can use the advertising ID on Android for identification purposes because this setting can provide information about the user’s activity on the device. This data can then be used to deliver personalized ads.
Starting with Android 12 , Android users can remove the advertising ID on their device to prevent apps and advertisers from using it. Previous versions of Android only supported resetting the ID, not completely disabling it. Google plans to add the uninstall feature to previous versions of the Android operating system by April 2022.
On the support page, the company says :
At the end of 2021, we will update Google Play Services. As a result, you can opt out of personalization using an advertising ID in Android settings. After that it will be deleted. Instead, a string of zeros will appear.
A phased update to Google Play Services will affect apps running on devices running Android 12 at the end of 2021. Starting April 2022, it will apply to products on all devices that support Google Play.
How to remove an advertising ID on an Android device
Follow the steps below to remove the advertising ID on Android. Note that you can create a new ID any time after you delete it.
- Open Settings on an Android 12 or later device.
- Go to Privacy > Ads .
- On the page that opens, activate the Remove advertising ID option . The page will list the current advertising ID, as well as the Reset advertising ID option .
- A new page will open informing you that the ad will still be shown, but without the ad ID, it may be less relevant. In addition, apps may have other tracking tools and may still display interest-based ads.
- Click the Remove advertising ID button .
Once you activate the remove button, you will be returned to the ad settings page. All options will disappear and a new option, Get a new advertising ID, will appear instead. You can activate it at any time to generate a new unique advertising ID on your device.
Android Privacy Sandbox Initiative
On February 16, 2022, Google announced plans to introduce “new, more private advertising solutions on Android” in the coming years. The new Privacy Sandbox for Android “will limit the sharing of user data with third parties and will work without identifiers between applications, including an advertising identifier.”
The full announcement is available at The Keyword by Google.