zeeshan khan
Google’s new policy change that allowed internet marketers to gather comprehensive user data via a technique called “fingerprinting” received a lot of criticism from advocates of privacy. Published on February 17, 2025, the new permissions have drawn criticism from authorities and privacy activists. In the UK, the Office of the Information Commissioner (ICO) deemed the choice to be “irresponsible.”
Publishers can collect device-related information through fingerprinting, comprising usage data like pointer moves and software and hardware specs like Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, browsers variations, OS versions, display decisions, and fonts. Digital fingerprints are different from cookies in that they can remain on different websites and user sessions since they cannot be obtained via deletion or blocking programs.
According to Google, the increased usage of multiple devices across a range of platforms, such as smart TVs and video game consoles, enables marketers to provide viewers individualized marketing. Google claims that, aside from privacy issues, advertising technology will flourish on new platforms using biometrics.
Google highlighted the requirement for privacy-enhancing technology in a blog post that strikes a balance between user privacy and efficient advertising. According to a Google representative, “privacy-enhancing technologies enable fresh opportunities for our business partners to flourish on new platforms while maintaining user privacy.”
Google’s Policy Shift
Considering Google, for example, which has previously criticized fingerprint as an unfair technique, this policy change represents a substantial reversal. In 2019, the firm openly said that fingerprinting was a bad practice since it prevented customers from controlling their data or choosing which data to acquire. According to Google, the inability of users to remove their biometric information from their devices undermines their ability to control access to data gathering.
“We think this alters choice for users & constitutes incorrect,” Google declared at the time. However, by allowing marketers that want to use biometrics in their marketing strategies permission, Google made an important modification to its policy.
Privacy groups have strongly criticized Google’s new fingerprint strategy since it enables marketers to track people between websites and gadgets without their permission. Will Richmond-Coggan, an expert in security technology and law, is worried about how Google’s latest move to use fingerprinting techniques may affect standards in the industry.
“Although the change is supposed to increase the relevancy of advertising, many people find it frightening, if not upsetting,” Richmond-Coggan said. “Hopefully, the governing body will pay attention to this trend and change the appropriate laws to address these issues.”
Supporters of privacy contend that permitting fingerprinting gives advertisers a tracking method that is hard for consumers to disable or refuse. According to Mozilla developer Martin Thomson, this action allows marketers to deploy a tracking mechanism that consumers cannot stop.
Privacy Backlash
Concerns about the policy change were reaffirmed by the ICO, which has proven outspoken in its resistance to fingerprint. The ICO called the company’s use of fingerprinting “irresponsible” in the month of December 2024 and emphasized that companies must use fingerprinting in an honest and legal way. “It must be used legally and openly, just like any other marketing technique; otherwise, the ICO will take action,” stated Stephen Almond, executive director of risk management at the ICO.
Lena Cohen, an administrative technologist at the Foundation for the Electronic Frontier, explained how Google’s recent policy change prioritizes business before privacy. She explained how data brokers, surveillance firms, and law enforcement organizations may easily obtain access to the advertisement monitoring system that reveals private information.
It is uncertain how politicians and authorities will react to the expanding use of fingerprinting in online advertisements as concerns regarding privacy continue to increase.
