The Privacy-oriented search engine DuckDuckGo is asking people to stop using Google Chrome because of the Google FLoC. While this isn’t the first time people seeing DuckDuckGo vs Google Chrome, it is certainly all guns blazing this time.
For the uninitiated, FLoC is Google’s way forward after getting rid of cookies. While Google Chrome is phasing out cookies, the company has received criticism from multiple technical experts, including the privacy groups like the EFF. DuckDuck Go has explicitly written an extensive guide on how to avoid Google FLoC from profiling you.
>DuckDuckGo's Guide To FLoC
The DuckDuckGo's guide to avoid FLoC has certain aggressive measures to stop Google’s latest tactics. The first point of the guide explicitly explains people to stop using Google Chrome. Why? Because Chrome is the only browser supporting FLoC and letting Google store the data under this new initiative.
While Google calls it a step towards the better privacy, others disagree this fact. DuckDuckGo also called out Google for not giving people an option to opt-out of Google FLoC.
This can also makes you think that FLoC is probably a rip-off from the Apple ad tracking transparency playbook.
The DuckDuckGo-Google Chrome showdown continues with the former proposing more measures in its explainer guide. DuckDuckGo has also updated its Chrome extension to block the google FLoC. At the time of writing this, the update is yet to appear on the Chrome web store from google side. But if you have the DuckDuckGo extension installed in chrome, it should automatically update. If you don’t have the extension, you can anytime get it.
Lastly, the search engine asks you to perform a series of steps in Chrome/Google App settings. While these are not sure-fire ways of preventing the FLoC from tracking you, these will help make ads slightly less intrusive.
>The Google FLoC-d Up! Here’s Why
Google may consider FLoC to be reasonable, making privacy-first feature, but if you look at it closely, you’ll find a lot of loopholes in it. The first being that it makes it more easy for advertisers to identify you because you’re already in the silver platter of cohorts.
Secondly, you can’t opt-out of the feature. In an age and time where it’s all about options, Google still wants a linear one-sided approach-fits-all feature to work on the Chrome. Another reason is that Google is converting Chrome into a machine that can do the work offline and keep you in cohorts based on what you saw and did on the internet.
So cookies are not gone yet. Chrome is basically going to becoming a large cookie that will store all information from every website you visit and use it to put you in a cluster/cohort of like-minded people. Out and out, it means that Chrome will track you and let others track you too more effectively if they play by Google’s rules.
If I could opt out of FLoC I probably would definitely do. That’s exactly the reason there’s no choice given in the app. Although the company will provide more options under Google Privacy Sandbox, we have no option but to stop using the Chrome and google.
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