Google tightens privacy policies

It’s blocking ads targeted by teens’ age, gender, interest

The Google logo in an arranged photograph on Jan. 22, 2021. Bloomberg photo by David Gray.
The Google logo in an arranged photograph on Jan. 22, 2021. Bloomberg photo by David Gray.

Google is limiting the targeted advertising of users younger than 18, among a series of changes by the search giant aimed at improving privacy protections for teens.

The Mountain View, Calif.-based company said it will begin blocking advertising that targets teenagers based on data compiled about their age, gender and interests. It will still allow ads based on context, such as a person's search requests.

Facebook Inc.'s Instagram recently announced a similar policy against ads targeting users under 18.

Google said in a blog post Tuesday that it's also planning privacy changes across video site YouTube, standard Search, Google Assistant, location history, the Google Play Store and Google Workspace for Education.

On YouTube, the company by default will make private the videos uploaded by users ages 13 to 17. The automated privacy setting means videos of those users can be watched by only them or approved viewers. These teenagers, however, will be able to unlock their videos to be viewed publicly. YouTube will also, by default, include reminders for younger users to take a break and to go to sleep at bedtime as well as disable the autoplay of consecutive videos.

In search, Google said it is expanding its SafeSearch feature to filter out explicit results for users who are 13 to 18. This feature will also apply to Google Assistant on smart screens. The tool also lets users under 18 flag images of themselves that appear in Google Search for removal.

In addition, Google said it would turn off location history for all users younger than 18 and eliminate the option for them to turn it back on.

The company plans to roll out the changes in the "coming weeks," it said.

Google's announcement comes on the heels of changes unveiled last month by Facebook to protect teenage users on Instagram. Among the advertising and privacy policy changes, one will make accounts created by children under 16 private by default, Instagram said.

Facebook also plans to limit the ability of marketers to target teenagers. Facebook said advertisers would be able to target people under 18 based only on their age, gender and location -- and not on their interests or their activity on other apps and websites.

Apple last week announced new protections against explicit images in its Messages app and safeguards against the uploading of explicit or abusive images of children to iCloud Photo libraries.

Information for this article was contributed by Mark Gurman of Bloomberg News (WPNS) and by Daisuke Wakabayashi of The New York Times.

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