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I think the expectation is other browsers will implement by default - the intention incidentally is that FLoC isn’t a google specific tech, it enables private t

I think the expectation is other browsers will implement by default - the intention incidentally is that FLoC isn’t a google specific tech, it enables private targeting by any ad vendor. The proposal seems to mostly to be by googlers but the association is with WICG which seems to have people from all over. As I noted in my original message - yes, its client side, you can do whatever. (‘Whether the browser sends a real FLoC or a random one is user controllable’ https://github.com/WICG/floc https://github.com/WICG/floc)

curryst 6y ago
The user controllability is genius, that neatly ties up their problem. They have a legitimate option to get out of being targeted, which they know almost no one will ever use. They could probably even add a setup prompt on install that says something like "Let us know which of these categories apply to you, so we can tailor your browsing to your interests" and get people to fill out half of it for them so they don't have to guess.
- ogre_codes 6y ago
  > "Let us know which of these categories apply to you, so we can tailor your browsing to your interests" This prompt will never happen. The last thing Google wants is any additional association between their brand and advertising. Google's mode of operation has always been to sneak in the back door and count how many boxes of cereal you have while you are looking at underwear. Knocking on the front door and to ask if they can come in would likely never occur to them. There is no mention of Chrome being an ad supported product anywhere when you install it. They want that association completely out of people's heads.
  - GrifMD 6y ago
    This is a misunderstanding of what these cohorts are. If you read the [FLEDGE readme](https://github.com/WICG/turtledove/blob/master/FLEDGE.md https://github.com/WICG/turtledove/blob/master/FLEDGE.md) you can see that there are multiple types of owners of cohorts that fall into 3 categories: 1. Advertisers - who would add you to a cohort they own, so say "Nike - womens-running-shoes" 2. Publishers - who'd want these cohorts to better allow for advertisers to advertiser on their site, so "NYTimes - business-section-reader" 3. Third party ad-tech companies looking to create audiences for advertisers who work with them, so "Example Agency - mens-formal-wear". They'd partner with publishers so that when you go to somewhere like GQ or Man of Many and read an article on tuxedos then you'd get added to the cohort. So you are right, you'd never see a prompt to add in your interests, but this isn't because Google doesn't want to associate with specific brands, it's that Google isn't necessarily an owner of a cohort (though they totally could create their own under any 3 of those categories).
    - estaseuropano 6y ago
      I would bet many will be highly local though, by city/neighbourhood/block level
- prox 6y ago
  This would hopefully kill the endless cookie questioning
  - toxik 6y ago
    Cookie popups are now part of our superstitions, our Internet rites. A decent web page, it doesn't just track you and molest your integrity -- it asks first! I don't think we'll get away from the cookie popups, ever. It's just like the "I agree to the TOS / EULA" checkboxes. Legally toothless, but you'd better have one, just in case.
    - btown 6y ago
      And cookie popups are now part of any corporate general counsel's requirements if you're even running first-party cookies and/or any kind of analytics, regardless of third-party-cookie changes. They're not going anywhere.
      - Angostura 6y ago
        I disagree. There is are many knowledgeable people out there that spend their time looking at the requirements of GDPR etc. and how those relate to cookies. If you can be properly advised that the kind of cookies you use aren't contravening the various privacy directives, it won't be long until they disapear.
    - seanhunter 6y ago
      I know one place where they were forced to add a cookie popup as part of a GDPR compliance tickbox exercise. The kicker? They didn't have any cookies. After a fruitless attempt to persuade the person working through the aforementioned exercise that you only need a cookie popup if you have cookies, the popup was implemented. Of course you need to store the user's preference. So now the site needed to have a cookie. One cookie which just stores the fact that the user has or hasn't consented to cookies.
  - gsich 6y ago
    This could easily be solved with DNT.

curryst 6y ago

The user controllability is genius, that neatly ties up their problem. They have a legitimate option to get out of being targeted, which they know almost no one will ever use. They could probably even add a setup prompt on install that says something like "Let us know which of these categories apply to you, so we can tailor your browsing to your interests" and get people to fill out half of it for them so they don't have to guess.

ogre_codes 6y ago
> "Let us know which of these categories apply to you, so we can tailor your browsing to your interests" This prompt will never happen. The last thing Google wants is any additional association between their brand and advertising. Google's mode of operation has always been to sneak in the back door and count how many boxes of cereal you have while you are looking at underwear. Knocking on the front door and to ask if they can come in would likely never occur to them. There is no mention of Chrome being an ad supported product anywhere when you install it. They want that association completely out of people's heads.
- GrifMD 6y ago
  This is a misunderstanding of what these cohorts are. If you read the [FLEDGE readme](https://github.com/WICG/turtledove/blob/master/FLEDGE.md https://github.com/WICG/turtledove/blob/master/FLEDGE.md) you can see that there are multiple types of owners of cohorts that fall into 3 categories: 1. Advertisers - who would add you to a cohort they own, so say "Nike - womens-running-shoes" 2. Publishers - who'd want these cohorts to better allow for advertisers to advertiser on their site, so "NYTimes - business-section-reader" 3. Third party ad-tech companies looking to create audiences for advertisers who work with them, so "Example Agency - mens-formal-wear". They'd partner with publishers so that when you go to somewhere like GQ or Man of Many and read an article on tuxedos then you'd get added to the cohort. So you are right, you'd never see a prompt to add in your interests, but this isn't because Google doesn't want to associate with specific brands, it's that Google isn't necessarily an owner of a cohort (though they totally could create their own under any 3 of those categories).
  - estaseuropano 6y ago
    I would bet many will be highly local though, by city/neighbourhood/block level
prox 6y ago
This would hopefully kill the endless cookie questioning
- toxik 6y ago
  Cookie popups are now part of our superstitions, our Internet rites. A decent web page, it doesn't just track you and molest your integrity -- it asks first! I don't think we'll get away from the cookie popups, ever. It's just like the "I agree to the TOS / EULA" checkboxes. Legally toothless, but you'd better have one, just in case.
  - btown 6y ago
    And cookie popups are now part of any corporate general counsel's requirements if you're even running first-party cookies and/or any kind of analytics, regardless of third-party-cookie changes. They're not going anywhere.
    - Angostura 6y ago
      I disagree. There is are many knowledgeable people out there that spend their time looking at the requirements of GDPR etc. and how those relate to cookies. If you can be properly advised that the kind of cookies you use aren't contravening the various privacy directives, it won't be long until they disapear.
  - seanhunter 6y ago
    I know one place where they were forced to add a cookie popup as part of a GDPR compliance tickbox exercise. The kicker? They didn't have any cookies. After a fruitless attempt to persuade the person working through the aforementioned exercise that you only need a cookie popup if you have cookies, the popup was implemented. Of course you need to store the user's preference. So now the site needed to have a cookie. One cookie which just stores the fact that the user has or hasn't consented to cookies.
- gsich 6y ago
  This could easily be solved with DNT.