Bloomberg reported Google was considering adding greater privacy protection options to Android in an apparent response to changes plotted by Apple for its iOS platform.

Sources told the news outlet Google was exploring options which would allow users to restrict the data collected about them. This may replicate an intiative dubbed Privacy Sandbox the company launched for its Chrome browser in 2020, which aims to replace cookies with a range of APIs for advertisers.

Google has been a vocal critic of Apple’s plan to amend iOS 14 by requiring apps to get consent from users to track their activity: the search giant warned in a recent blog the change could have a negative impact on advertising revenue.

Despite this, it backed improved protections for users, stating in the blog it would continue to “invest in privacy preserving technology, including aggregated and on-device solutions, like what we’re developing for the web”.

Parent Alphabet’s advertising revenue hit $46.2 billion in Q4 2020, up 21.8 per cent year-on-year.