Google Pay Introduces Targeted Ads in India
According to Google, the ad personalization option will bring “more relevant offers and rewards based on [user] activity within Google Pay, including … transaction history”. It will be available in the new version of the Google Pay app, and all users will get to choose whether they would like to turn the option on or off as soon as they upgrade. The ‘feature’ will be available on both Android and iOS starting next week.
Meanwhile, turning off the ad personalization option won’t necessarily get rid of all advertisements on Google Pay. According to Google, which recently confirmed its plans not to charge transaction fees in India, ‘offers and rewards’ will continue to be on display even after switching off this setting. However, they won’t include any personalized content.
What About Data Sharing With Advertisers?
Google says that the financial and transaction information for all users has always been governed with user consent. According to the company, that will continue to remain the case following the new update as well. “Your personal information is never sold to anyone and your transaction history is not shared with any other Google product for targeting ads,” said the company. Users will also be able to manage how the company uses their transaction history and activity within Google Pay for ad personalization. For that, they will have to visit account.google.com, where they can view and delete individual transactions and activity records that they don’t want to be used for targeted ads.
