Google’s new policy tracks all your devices with no opt-out | Digital Trends

Google’s recent decision to allow device fingerprinting for targeted advertising highlights the complex trade-offs between privacy and digital advertising needs. The policy, effective February 2025, enables advertisers to collect detailed device data—such as IP addresses, screen resolution, OS versions, and behavioral signals like mouse movements—to build persistent user profiles. Unlike cookies, fingerprinting creates dynamic identifiers from hardware and software attributes, making tracking harder to detect or block. Google argues this approach adapts to modern platforms (e.g., smart devices) where cookies fail, while supporting fraud detection and “privacy-centric” advertising frameworks.

Privacy advocates counter that fingerprinting erodes user control, as profiles persist even when cookies are disabled or deleted. Critics argue the technique aggregates uniquely identifiable data points (e.g., battery levels, installed fonts) that bypass consent mechanisms, raising GDPR compliance concerns. The move also contradicts Google’s 2019 opposition to fingerprinting as antithetical to user choice. While Google asserts data anonymization, regulators warn the method creates opaque tracking ecosystems with risks of misuse by third parties. This shift underscores the broader challenge of balancing ad-driven business models with ethical data practices—a debate likely to influence both regulatory action and consumer trust in connected devices.