您可能在访问的网站上遇到过同意通知，要求您允许来自该网站的 cookie。当您允许 cookie 时，它们会充当数据收集代理，帮助广告商投放符合您需求或喜好的广告。
换句话说，您有没有想过您是如何看到您在亚马逊(Amazon)或其他在线电子商务商店中搜索过的特定产品或类别的广告的？这只有通过浏览器上的第三方 cookie收集的跟踪和数据才能实现。
第三方 cookie 收集的数据有助于创建数字档案，以针对您的喜好投放适合您的广告。广告商通过第三方 cookie 获取他们需要的数据。出现了一个问题，即您在哪里考虑隐私。您的隐私受到这些 cookie 的损害。你的行为是由算法预测的，你的决定会受到它们所投放的广告的影响。
谷歌决定终止(put an end)第三方cookies，更加重视用户的隐私。因此，他们正在用Cohorts(Federated Learning of Cohorts )或FLoC的联合学习取代传统的第三方 cookie 。让我们详细看看它是什么，并了解它如何影响您的隐私。
什么是 Google 的FLoC （(FLoC)群组联合(Cohorts)学习(Federated Learning)）
直接地说，FLoC帮助广告商根据他们的网络行为提供有针对性的广告，而无需第三方 cookie。它是Google Chrome中的一种浏览器标准，它收集有关用户的网络浏览习惯、偏好、活动的数据，并将数据与具有相似偏好和习惯的其他人的数据分组。这些组在技术术语中称为群组 。(cohorts )一个群组由具有相似浏览习惯的人的数据组成。组中的每个用户都被分配了一个群组 ID，该群组 ID 与广告商共享以投放广告。无论您在网络上做什么，它都会被汇总到一个同类群组 ID。
然后，同类群组 ID 会显示给您在网络上与之互动的每个人。与第三方 cookie 收集的数据相比，广告商通过FLoC获得的数据更加详细和庞大。(FLoC)
谷歌浏览器(Google Chrome)使用一种称为SimHash的算法，它会根据您访问的网站将您分组。它会根据您过去 7 天的网络活动(based on your web activity in the past 7 days)每周计算一个群组或FLoC ID。
阅读(Read)： 什么是网络跟踪？什么是浏览器中的跟踪器？(What is Web Tracking? What are Trackers in browsers?)
为什么 Google 的 FLoC 对您不利？
第三方 cookie 只能访问用户的某些数据。但对于FLoC，情况并非如此。这就是为什么Google的FLoC对您不利的原因。
可预测性
谷歌(Google)希望结束由第三方 cookie 进行的跟踪。但是，他们提出的替代方案跟踪更多，并收集了很多第三方 cookie 通常不会收集的信息。如果我们笼统地说，坏的东西正在被邪恶的东西所取代。
当您在启用FLoC的情况下使用(FLoC)Google Chrome时，启用的数据将被放入一个群组，并为您分配一个群组 ID。像Google这样的大型组织可以使用包含您在网络上所做的几乎所有事情的同类群组 ID 来预测关于您的所有事情。可以预测您的兴趣、人口统计、过去的行为等。
阅读：(Read:) 如何在 Chrome 中选择退出 Google FLoC（隐私沙盒）(opt-out of Google FLoC (Privacy Sandbox) in Chrome)。
浏览器指纹
每个安全研究人员都指出的最重要的问题是浏览器指纹(Browser Fingerprinting)。这是一种从用户的浏览活动中收集小而离散的信息，为浏览器创建唯一且可识别的配置文件的做法。没有浏览器成功停止指纹识别(Fingerprinting)。Tor和其他一些浏览器不得不放弃一些功能以在很大程度上停止指纹识别。FLoC为广告商和组织提供他们想要的任何东西，并将浏览器指纹识别提升到一个新的水平。
阅读(Read)： 网站流量指纹(Website Traffic Fingerprinting)。
通过服务曝光
有许多公司提供他们的服务，并要求您使用Google登录以使用它们。组织可以将他们通过您的Google个人资料收集的信息与您的FLoC ID联系起来的风险很大。逆向(Reverse)工程可以揭示您的群组 ID，并将 ID 上的信息与通过帐户收集的信息合并在一起，以提供详细的数字足迹。
目前，Google正在(Google)澳大利亚(Australia)、巴西(Brazil)、加拿大(Canada)、印度(India)、印度尼西亚(Indonesia)、日本(Japan)、墨西哥(Mexico)、新西兰(New Zealand)、菲律宾(Philippines)和美国(United)的(States)Chrome用户中测试FLoC标准。该跟踪由来自选定位置的 0.5% 的用户组成。
DuckDuckGo、Brave 和 Vivaldi 浏览器已决定开始阻止Google FLoC。
看看你是否是 FloCed
如果您想查看您是否被添加到试运行中，请访问amifloced.org并单击“检查 FLOC ID”(CHECK FOR FLOC ID)按钮。
我们希望本文能帮助您了解 Google 的FLoC是什么以及检查您的FLoC ID。
阅读(Read)： 如何保护 Internet 上的个人身份信息(How to protect Personally Identifiable Information on the Internet)。
What is Google's FLoC and why is it bad for your privacy?
You might have come across consent notifications on websites you visit аsking уou to allow cookies from thе website. When you allow the cookies, they act as data collection agеnts which help advertisers place the ads that suit your needs or likingѕ.
To put it in other words, have you ever wondered how you are seeing ads of a particular product or category which you had searched for in Amazon or other online eCommerce stores? This is possible only with the tracking and the data that the third-party cookies on your browser collect.
The data collected by third-party cookies help in creating a digital profile to target you with ads that suit your likes. Advertisers get the data they need through third-party cookies. There arises the question of where you think of privacy. Your privacy is compromised by those cookies. Your behavior is predicted by the algorithms and your decisions get influenced by the ads they serve.
Google decided to put an end to third-party cookies and give more prominence to users’ privacy. So, they are replacing the traditional third-party cookies with Federated Learning of Cohorts or FLoC. Let’s see what it is in detail and know how it affects your privacy.
What Is Google’s FLoC (Federated Learning Of Cohorts)
To put it directly, FLoC helps the advertisers in serving targeted ads based on their web behavior without third-party cookies. It is a browser standard that comes in Google Chrome where it collects the data about the user’s web browsing habits, preferences, activity, and the data is grouped with that of others with similar preferences and habits. The groups are called cohorts in technical terminology. A cohort consists of data of people with similar browsing habits. Each user in the group is assigned a cohort ID which is shared with the advertisers to serve ads. Whatever you do on the web, it is summarized into a cohort ID.
The cohort ID is then displayed to everyone you interact with on the web. The data an advertiser gets with FLoC is more detailed and large as compared to the data collected by third-party cookies.
Google Chrome uses an algorithm called SimHash which groups you into a cohort-based on the websites you visit. It calculates a cohort or FLoC ID every week based on your web activity in the past 7 days.
Read: What is Web Tracking? What are Trackers in browsers?
Why is Google’s FLoC bad for you?
Third-party cookies are given access to only certain data of a user. But with FLoC it is not the case. Here’s why Google’s FLoC is bad for you.
Predictability
Google wants to end the tracking done by third-party cookies. But, the replacement they proposed tracks more and collects a lot of information that usually not collected by the third-party cookies. A bad is being replaced with something evil, if we put it in general terms.
When you are using Google Chrome with FLoC enabled, the data enabled is put into a cohort, and you are assigned a cohort ID. Large organizations such as Google can predict everything about you with the cohort ID that contains almost everything you do on the web. Your interests, demographics, past behavior, etc can be predicted.
Read: How to opt-out of Google FLoC (Privacy Sandbox) in Chrome.
Browser Fingerprinting
The most important issue that every security researcher is pointing a finger at is Browser Fingerprinting. It is a practice of collecting small and discrete pieces of information from the user’s browsing activity to create a unique and identifiable profile for the browser. No browser has been successful in stopping Fingerprinting. Tor and some other browsers had to forego some features to stop fingerprinting that too not to the large extent. FLoC gives the advertisers and organizations whatever they want and powers the browser fingerprinting to the next level.
Read: Website Traffic Fingerprinting.
Exposure through Services
There are many companies that offer their services and ask you to login using Google to use them. There is a huge risk that the organizations can tie the information they collect through your Google profile to your FLoC ID. Reverse engineering can reveal your cohort ID and the information on the ID and the information collected through the account merge together to give a detailed digital footprint.
Currently, Google is testing the FLoC standard as a trial on Chrome users from Australia, Brazil, Canada, India, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, the Philippines, and the United States. The trail consists of 0.5% of users from the selected locations.
DuckDuckGo, Brave and Vivaldi browsers have decided to start blocking Google FLoC.
Find out if you are FloCed
If you want to find if you are added to the trail run, visit amifloced.org and click on the CHECK FOR FLOC ID button.
We hope this article helped you understand what Google’s FLoC is and in checking your FLoC ID.
Read: How to protect Personally Identifiable Information on the Internet.
