Android · Privacy & Security
Control on-device ad personalization signals
Privacy Sandbox settings let you review and turn off the Topics, App Functions, and Attribution APIs that let apps show relevant ads without sending your individual browsing history to advertisers.
How to open Privacy Sandbox & Ad Topics
- Open Settings → Privacy → Privacy Sandbox (Ads)
- Review your current Topics list
- Toggle off Topics, Attribution, or Measurement individually as desired
- Optionally reset your advertising ID from the same section
What you should know
- View and remove specific ad Topics inferred from your app usage
- Turn off Topics, Attribution, or Ad measurement APIs individually
- See which apps have recently accessed Privacy Sandbox APIs
- Reset your advertising ID separately from these controls
Privacy Sandbox is designed to keep raw browsing and app-usage data on the device rather than sharing it directly with advertisers, but it still uses that data locally to select ad categories.
Why it matters
Privacy Sandbox represents a shift in how Android handles ad personalization, moving computation on-device instead of sending detailed usage data to ad networks, but it's still worth understanding and controlling since it's on by default for many users. Reviewing your inferred ad Topics can be genuinely surprising, showing categories inferred from apps you may not have realized reveal that much about your interests. Turning these off doesn't reduce the number of ads you see, only how targeted they are.
Best practices
- Periodically review your inferred Topics list and remove any that feel too revealing or simply inaccurate.
- Turn off Topics entirely if you'd rather see generic ads than personalized ones.
- Reset your advertising ID alongside disabling Topics for a more complete personalization reset.
Common problems and fixes
- Ads still feel personalized after turning off Topics.
- Some apps use their own tracking or account-based personalization independent of Android's Privacy Sandbox controls.
- Topics list keeps regenerating after being cleared.
- This is expected; Topics regenerate based on ongoing app usage unless the feature is disabled entirely.
Tips and tricks
- Check the 'App Functions' section to see exactly which installed apps have queried the Privacy Sandbox APIs recently.
Frequently asked questions
Does disabling this block all ads?
No, it only reduces personalization; ads still display, just less tailored to your inferred interests.
Is my raw browsing history sent to advertisers?
The design intent is to keep detailed data on-device, sharing only broad inferred categories rather than raw history.
Related settings
- Privacy DashboardThe Privacy Dashboard gives you a timeline of exactly which apps accessed your camera, microphone, and location, and when — so you can spot anything unexpected at a glance.
- App PermissionsApp permissions control what each app is allowed to access — camera, microphone, location, contacts, and more. You can review and change these at any time, per app or per permission type.
- LocationLocation settings control the master switch for GPS and location-based features, plus how accurately your device estimates its position using Wi-Fi and Bluetooth scanning. Turning location off device-wide overrides any individual app's permission, cutting off maps, weather, and other location-aware features at once.
More Privacy & Security guides for Android
- Security & Screen LockScreen lock is the first line of defense for everything on your phone, letting you choose a PIN, pattern, password, or biometric unlock like a fingerprint or face. It also determines whether your device's backups and stored data are encrypted, since Android ties encryption strength to having a real screen lock set.
- Emergency SOS & SafetyEmergency SOS lets you quickly call for help and automatically share your location with emergency contacts and first responders by pressing the power button rapidly, without needing to unlock the phone first. The broader Personal Safety app builds on this with features like Safety Check, Crisis Alerts, and Car Crash Detection on supported devices.
- Show Passwords ToggleControls whether password characters briefly appear on screen as you type them, instead of being immediately masked as dots, making it easier to verify accurate entry.
- Lock Screen Notification PrivacyDetermines whether notification content, sender names, and previews appear on the lock screen before the phone is unlocked, or whether they're hidden until authentication.
- Usage & Diagnostics Data SharingUsage & diagnostics controls whether the device automatically sends crash reports, performance data, and feature usage statistics to Google to help improve Android and pre-installed apps.
- Camera & Microphone Access ToggleQuick privacy toggles that disable camera and microphone access system-wide for every app at once, overriding individual app permissions until switched back on.