DuckDuckGo highlights Google’s new tracking method, asks Chrome users to Block FLoC

Privacy-focused search engine DuckDuckGo has called Google out for its latest replacement of web cookies - FLoC. It says that Chrome users should opt-out of it immediately as it is just another way of user data collection.

Privacy has gained apex importance in today’s increasingly digital world. The attention has brought powerful changes to the way the internet majors now work. An example is Google’s latest tracking method called FLoC, which Google says will bring more privacy in its data collection methods for its advertisement space. DuckDuckGo, however, does not approve of it. In a new blog post, privacy-centric search engine DuckDuckGo has spoken out against the use of FLoC by Google on its web browser Chrome. It says it is just another tracking method by Google and blames the tech major for not giving an option to Chrome users to opt-out of it. FLoC is the latest effort by Google to introduce more user privacy in its data collection for directed advertisements across its platforms. Short for Federated Learning of Cohorts, the program comes as an alternative to browser cookies and aims to cluster “large groups of people with similar interests.” This means that FLoC will be used to collect individual user data anonymously, as part of a larger group.