Google claims that it has conquered a new way to replace HTTP Cookies during Q2 2021. Reportedly, Federated Learning of Cohorts, aka FLoC, will collectively hide users in a crowd. Further, the new API will process the web history of a person on the browser. Google with Chrome intends to make Cohorts based on FLoC accessible for testing by users via origin trials during the next release in March. Moreover, Google will begin testing FLoC alongside advertisers at the beginning of Q2.
By its looks, FLoC is an integral part of Chrome’s Privacy Sandbox that will mitigate the impact on users significantly. The innovation to bring FLoC to life is an initiative by Google to find a concrete solution in protecting the user’s privacy. Further, it would also make content free on the web.
Moments after announcing the groundbreaking initiative’s effectiveness and prospect, Google also revealed that it would end support for third-party cookies within a couple of years. Engineers with Chrome are working with a broad industry such as web standards organization in the Sandbox. So far, much of the ideas have begun moving forward.
Initially, Google will put users in designated groups according to browsing behaviors, suggests cohort IDs. Google will no longer support putting users in unique IDs like before. As far as Web history is concerned, they will be kept on the browser alongside the algorithm. The difference between conventional third-party HTTP Cookies and FLoC is that users will no longer be tracked across the web.
