Google is developing an anonymous identifier for advertising, or AdID, that would replace third-party cookies as the way advertisers track people's internet browsing activity for marketing purposes, a person familiar with the plan told USA Today. The AdID would be transmitted to advertisers and ad networks that have agreed to basic guidelines, giving consumers more privacy and control over how they browse the web.
Google plans to outline the proposal to industry participants, government bodies and consumer groups in the coming weeks, the paper said. A Google spokesman said the company was in the "very early stages" of developing technological enhancements to improve user security, but declined to provide further details.The new tool would give users the ability to limit ad tracking through browser settings, according to the person familiar with the plan. The AdID may be automatically reset by the browser every year, and users will be able to create a secondary AdID for online browsing sessions they want to keep particularly private. Advertisers will get access to these AdIDs, as long as they adhere to the terms of the programme. However, users may be able to change the list of approved advertisers, through controls in the browser, to exclude specific firms.
