In recent years, there has been significant pushback against companies tracking online activity, especially in mobile. Apple has already taken steps to limit it, and more are on the way, but it appears that Android may follow its example.

Bloomberg reports that "Google is exploring its own alternative to Apple's anti-tracking features. Specifically, it is said to be taking steps to limit data collection and cross-app tracking methods.

It is one thing for Apple to limit tracking, but for Google to step in is a big deal, given Google's reliance on ad revenue.

User data is often used to personalize ads. Therefore, by limiting tracking on Android, Google may be curtailing its own money-making attempts.

Apple has no such problem. Instead, Cupertino has chosen to derive the bulk of its revenue from services such as the App Store and device sales.

Google's advertising business generates more than $100 billion in revenue annually, and the company is reportedly taking input from advertisers and developers as it develops new privacy standards, dubbed the "privacy sandbox."

For this reason, Android's anti-tracking system is said to be "less stringent" than Apple's. Apple's upcoming privacy review specifically encourages users to opt-in to data tracking, but Android's does not. This is all part of a balancing act to ensure that user privacy is maintained without offending advertisers.

Bloomberg noted that Android's new system may be similar to changes that will happen to Google Chrome next year; Google's plan is to phase out third-party cookies that can track users across the web to serve ads to serve ads.

The new Android privacy initiative is still in its early stages, and Google has reportedly "not decided if or when it will move forward with the changes. It will undoubtedly take a lot of work to avoid the kind of backlash in the advertising industry that Apple has experienced in recent months. And unlike Apple, Google has something to lose by going against advertisers.

So don't expect things to suddenly change with the launch of Android 12.