

The websites you visit on Chrome might not know the specifics of your browsing history, but Google will. The problem with FLoC is that it doesn’t actually make you more private - it just strengthens Google’s stranglehold on your data. They can then target you with ads for guitar shops in New York, but they won’t have any specific information about the previous pages you’ve visited. When you view a website, that site will receive your FLoC ID. It will assign you to a relevant cohort, along with thousands of similar people. Let’s say Chrome can tell from your browsing history that you’re in New York and interested in electric guitars. On the surface, that seems like a neat idea. The FLoC ID will allow the site to show you relevant ads, based on your cohort, without ever knowing the specifics of your personal browsing history.When you visit a website through your Chrome browser, that site will see your FLoC ID (an ID you share with everyone else in your cohort).Chrome watches what you do online, and matches you to a “cohort” - a cluster of thousands of other users who have very similar interests and characteristics.

Google is trialing FLoC on their Chrome browser as an alternative system for ad targeting. While they can be useful at times, helping sites recognize returning visitors, cookies also facilitate invasive advertising. browser cookiesīrowser cookies are little pieces of data that websites implant in your browser, allowing them to track you across multiple different pages. Multiple privacy-focused browsers, including DuckDuckGo and Brave, have already rejected FLoC and condemned it as a step in the wrong direction.īefore we can look at the problems with FLoC, however, we need to understand what it is, and what it’s meant to replace. Unconvinced? Well, you’re not the only one. That’s right Google would like to protect your privacy. According to the tech giant, they believe FLoC can help to protect user privacy.

FLoC (Federated Learning of Cohorts) is a system created by Google to replace browser cookies on Chrome.
