Tech giant Google has announced that it would take new measures to protect users’ privacy on Android devices. 

Google’s privacy initiative called the Privacy Sandbox, previously limited to reducing tracking on the Chrome browser, will now be available on all Android devices.  

On Wednesday, the tech giant announced that it would be launching efforts to build privacy-focused advertising solutions that will limit the sharing of user data with third parties. 

“We believe that — without first providing a privacy-preserving alternative path — such approaches can be ineffective and lead to worse outcomes for user privacy and developer businesses,” Anthony Chavez, vice president of product management for Android security and privacy, said in a blog post.

Mr Chavez disclosed that Google planned to continue supporting its existing tracking system for at least two years and provide “substantial notice” to the industry about how the changes will work.

The move from Google comes as the digital advertising industry has faced disruptions from software changes and scrutiny from global regulators.

Last year, Facebook was affected by app tracking changes introduced by Apple last year.

In its iOS 14.5 update, Apple gave users the option to opt out of having apps track their behaviour. This software change contributed to a steep decline of over $200 billion of the company’s market value. 

Shares of Facebook-parent Meta, Snap, Twitter and Pinterest all dipped in early trading Wednesday following the announcement.

Google added that the privacy-focused advertising solutions would limit the sharing of user data with third parties. These will operate without the individual identifiers that allow developers to track user activity across various mobile apps and create ads targeted to a user’s behaviour and interests.