The Protected Audience API on Android helps protect user privacy. It uses two main components: the Custom Audience API and the Ad Selection API.
Here's a simplified breakdown of the process:
- Custom audience creation (using the Custom Audience API)
- Ad tech SDKs use the API to define custom audiences based on user actions observed within the app, such as adding an item to a shopping cart, viewing a product page, or completing a level in a game.
- These custom audiences are created and managed on the device itself, minimizing the sharing of user data with external servers.
- Privacy-preserving ad selection (using the Ad Selection API)
- When an ad opportunity arises, the Ad Selection API facilitates a privacy-preserving auction where ad tech platforms can bid on the opportunity to show an ad to the user.
- The API ensures that only relevant information (such as the user’s membership in custom audiences, for example) is shared with ad tech platforms during the auction.
- The winning bid is selected based on the auction outcome and displayed to the user within the app.
Many of the API's operations, like custom audience creation and ad selection, occur directly on the Android device, minimizing data sharing with external servers. The API also provides users with transparency and control over their data. Users can view and manage the custom audiences they belong to, and they can opt out of targeted advertising altogether.
SDK Runtime integration
While it’s not a requirement to work within the SDK Runtime environment, the Protected Audience API can work seamlessly with the SDK Runtime environment, providing an additional layer of security. The SDK Runtime isolates ad SDKs from the main app, limiting their access to user data and preventing unauthorized access.