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Google has decided to let the initial test of its FLoC ad technology conclude in a few days to work on improvements – though it isn t inclined to share feedback from test participants.
Privacy advocates would prefer if the online ad giant provided more insight into the test results, since Google s ongoing ad infrastructure rewrite affects every internet business and internet user, not to mention the digital ad industry generating $350bn annually.
FLoC stands for Federated Learning of Cohorts and promises a way to divide browser users into interest groups so they can be presented with interest-based ads without revealing personal information to advertisers. It s one proposal among many, collectively referred to as the Privacy Sandbox, intended to repackage targeted advertising technology so it can continue amid tighter privacy laws and technical limitations like the eventual discontinuation of third-party cookies.
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Analysis Google on Monday said it will make some of its Privacy Sandbox proposals available for testing with the release of Chrome 89 in March as part of its effort to rewire the technical infrastructure of online advertising.
The planned privacy defenses aren t entirely ready yet, but should be, eventually. Advertising is essential to keeping the web open for everyone, but the web ecosystem is at risk if privacy practices do not keep up with changing expectations, said Chetna Bindra, group product manager for user trust and privacy, at Google in a blog post.