Google’s ad-tracking overhaul continues with first developer preview of Privacy Sandbox on Android

The Verge

Last year, Apple added App Tracking Transparency to iOS, and the shift in the flow of data from mobile users was enough to unsettle even Facebook. Now, Google, which relies on targeted advertising for its business model, is preparing its own multi-year adjustment to mobile ad tracking and privacy.

Starting today, app developers can get their first look at the new system, as the first developer preview of Privacy Sandbox on Android rolls out, following the path of similar tests in Google’s Chrome browser on the desktop.

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Apple has made nearly $100 billion so far this year

Ars Technica

Apple reported its earnings for Q2 2022 to investors on Thursday. Once again, the company beat analyst expectations and posted massive revenues and profits across most of its product lines. The only category that saw a drop in year-over-year revenue was the iPad.

Q2 2022 largely included the months of January, February, and March 2022. For that period, Apple reported $97.3 billion in revenue, up 9 percent year-over-year, with a profit of $25 billion.

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Netflix Wants To Add 30 More Mobile Games In 2022

Android Headlines

Of all companies, the streaming service Netflix is offering mobile games through its subscription. Since November 2021, Netflix has added 18 games that subscribers can download and play. However, the company is not going to stop there. According to The Washington Post (via EuroGamer), Netflix is going to add as many as 30 more mobile games by the end of 2022.

Right now, the streaming platform offers games like Asphalt Xtreme, Stranger Things 3: The Game, Trivia Quest, This is a True Story, and several more. When you tap on the game, you’ll automatically be taken to your OS’s respective app store to download the game. If you have a subscription to Netflix, you’ll be able to freely download the game and play it.

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Apple to face fresh antitrust charges in Brussels

FT

Apple is set to face fresh antitrust charges in Brussels next week over the way it restricts rivals from accessing its mobile payment system, as the EU sets up its latest challenge to the market power of the world’s most valuable company. The tech giant will be accused of breaking EU law in the way it operates Apple Pay, a payments system that operates on hundreds of millions of iPhone devices, according to four people with direct knowledge of the matter.

The European Commission suggested on Wednesday a single mobile charging port more than a decade ago, hoping phone makers would be able to find a common solution. It proposed draft legislation last year, a world-first after they failed to do so.

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WhatsApp follows Google in giving cash-back rewards to win payments users in India

Tech Crunch

WhatsApp, the most popular smartphone app in India, is employing one of the most popular strategies that has proven to drive users in the world’s second largest market to a service: cash-back. The Meta-owned instant messaging service is running a campaign as part of which it is giving away about 11 Indian rupees, or 14 cents, up to three times to users if they send money to three different people on the app, according to users and an official company support page.

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Zimbabwe cracks down on mobile money to discourage US dollar uptake

Quartz

Zimbabwe is cracking down on its mobile money sector through a wave of regulatory chokeholds, including shutdowns and strict requirements to by-pass agent networks for US dollar cash-in and cash-outs from mobile wallets.

It’s a familiar story in Zimbabwe, that of a US dollar shortage, with citizens willing to pay a premium to get those dollars as the country sinks deeper into a financial crisis. The culprit being blamed this time by the Government is mobile money operators despite the fact that for many, mobile money and other digital financial services have helped buffer them against a full-blown financial crisis.

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France announces user-controlled mobile digital identity app for use with national ID

Biometric Update

France announces a new system for proving digital identity via a smartphone, while formally discontinuing the ill-fated Alicem app of 2019.

Called “Service de garantie de l’identité numérique” (SGIN) (“Digital Identity Guarantee Service”), the system for automating the processing of personal information is jointly authorized by the Minister of the Interior (General Secretariat) and the National Agency for Secure Documents (ANTS).

The app element serves as a smartphone extension of their electronic Carte Nationale d’Identité (CNIe). The app will authenticate a person’s identity for accessing both public and private-sector services and use the smartphone’s NFC reader to scan users’ biometric identity cards.

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The metaverse could be the next frontier of ecommerce

Tech Radar Pro

There’s much to be excited about when it comes to the metaverse and Web3, particularly for retailers. This is especially true for brands who have struggled to keep pace with digital experiences using today’s technologies. With emerging tools, businesses could finally unlock the true potential for ecommerce, and create new, unique experiences at the same time.

By now, most people will have seen videos of the metaverse and what it can potentially achieve in the future. For some, it’s a thrilling prospect. For others, there’s a degree of hesitancy. But what this early phase does is enable companies to prepare for the future.

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Advertising is still recovering after a year of AppTrackingTransparency

Insider Intelligence

The news: One year after Apple’s AppTrackingTransparency (ATT) update dramatically changed mobile advertising, the industry is beginning to stabilize and mobile ad spending is on the rise, per a report from AppsFlyer.

By the numbers: In the months after ATT was launched, requiring apps to let users choose to opt-in or out of having their personal info tracked, opt-in rates were as low as 23.64%. But now, with a majority of apps showing the tracking pop-up, just under half of users have opted in.

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