Do I need to declare Ad Id in manifest when targeting children?

[bgan]

Hello,

I have integrated the AdMob SDK into my app which automatically declares the advertisment id permission in the manifest file. However my app is in the designed for families program and I am additionally setting the tag TAG_FOR_CHILD_DIRECTED_TREATMENT_TRUE for AdMob via code, for which the documentation clearly pointing out that no advertisment id is transmitted, see 

https://developers.google.com/admob/android/targeting#child-directed_setting:

"Call setTagForChildDirectedTreatment with TAG_FOR_CHILD_DIRECTED_TREATMENT_TRUE to indicate that you want your content treated as child-directed for purposes of COPPA. This will prevent the transmission of the Android advertising identifier (AAID)."

Also per policy it is not allowed to use the AD_ID when targeting children. I would also assume that the ad id is not used for frequency capping, fraud detection etc., but I am not sure if this is the case.

In above scenario, can I just remove the AD_ID declaration of the merged manifest file or will this cause any errors? 

[bgan]

Follow up question: Is setting the flag  TAG_FOR_CHILD_DIRECTED_TREATMENT_TRUE  similar to limited Ads ( Limited ads - Google AdMob Help)?

[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor]

Hi bgan,

Starting from version 20.4.0, Google Mobile Ads SDK includes the com.google.android.gms.permission.AD_ID permission in the SDK's manifest that is automatically merged into the app manifest by Android build tools. To learn more about the AD_ID permission declaration, including how to disable it, refer to this Play Console Help article. If your app uses the Google Mobile Ads SDK version 20.4.0 or higher, you can skip this step since the SDK automatically declares the com.google.android.gms.permission.AD_ID permission and is able to access the Advertising ID whenever it's available.

For apps that use the Google Mobile Ads SDK version 20.3.0 or lower and are targeting Android 13, you must add the com.google.android.gms.permission.AD_ID permission in the AndroidManifest.xml file for the Google Mobile Ads SDK to access the Advertising ID

As per setting TAG_FOR_CHILD_DIRECTED_TREATMENT_TRUE, if you call setTagForChildDirectedTreatment with TAG_FOR_CHILD_DIRECTED_TREATMENT_TRUE to indicate that you want your content treated as child-directed for purposes of COPPA. This will prevent the transmission of the Android advertising identifier (AAID). TAG_FOR_CHILD_DIRECTED_TREATMENT_TRUE is differ to limited Ads ( Limited ads - Google AdMob Help).

Regards,

Teejay Wennie Mobile Ads SDK Team

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[bgan]

Hi,

Thanks, but what have you described is already clear to me. What is still unclear: When I use the tag  TAG_FOR_CHILD_DIRECTED_TREATMENT_TRUE, does the AdMob SDK access and use the advertising identifier in any way or is it not used at all (even not for frequency capping or fraud detection)?

One additional question in respect to limited ads: Here Limited ads - Google AdMob Help it is reading "LTD on apps will only be supported for the IAB TCF v2.0 framework at this time." On the same page there is also a link on how to activate limited ads for Android, see here Global Settings  |  Android  |  Google Developers. Here it is described that the gad_has_consent_for_cookies preference can be set to zero via SharedPreferences. Does this has any effect when I do not use the UMP EU Consent message?

[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor]

Hi,

Thank you for your response.

With regard to your question for the tag "TAG_FOR_CHILD_DIRECTED_TREATMENT_TRUE", as per the documentation, if you indicate it in your implementation this will prevent the transmission of the AAID or the Google Mobile Ads SDK will disable transmission of the Android advertising identifier (AAID). Then, for the limited ads, as this is under the global settings this may not affect whether you're not using the UMP. But, if you've encountered any error using it, kindly inform us so that we can check it.

Regards,

Princess Pamela Mobile Ads SDK Team

 

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[bgan]

Hi, 

Thanks for the information. One more question. There is a similar function for GDPR which is  setTagForUnderAgeOfConsent(). This can be set to  TAG_FOR_UNDER_AGE_OF_CONSENT_TRUE . However, the documentation ( Ausrichtung  |  Android  |  Google Developers) is reading that you should not use both,  TAG_FOR_CHILD_DIRECTED_TREATMENT_TRUE  and  TAG_FOR_UNDER_AGE_OF_CONSENT_TRUE , at the same time. In this case the  TAG_FOR_CHILD_DIRECTED_TREATMENT_TRUE takes precedence.

Question: If I only set TAG_FOR_CHILD_DIRECTED_TREATMENT_TRUE, does this also apply to user in the EU or only for users where COPPA would apply? I would assume that this applies to all users and is the more conservative option of both. 

[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor]

Hello,

Yes, your understanding is correct. 

Regards,

Teejay Wennie Mobile Ads SDK Team

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