Author Topic: FLoC Targeted Ads by Google can now be blocked...  (Read 7264 times)

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Offline polonus

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FLoC Targeted Ads by Google can now be blocked...
« on: April 10, 2021, 05:53:29 PM »
Federated Learning of Cohorts (FLoC), a new way for Gloogle to show targeted ads,
can now be blocked by uBlock Origin.


As published here: https://github.com/uBlockOrigin/uAssets/commit/98414bbad4d6fc3d8cbbeeff994f55165dedaaa3

DuckDuckGo Essentials will also soon come to block FloC.

polonus
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Offline alanb

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Re: FLoC Targeted Ads by Google can now be blocked...
« Reply #1 on: April 10, 2021, 06:36:11 PM »
Quote
DuckDuckGo Essentials will also soon come to block FloC.

Also Brave, apparently.  See: https://github.com/brave/brave-browser/issues/14942

Offline Asyn

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Re: FLoC Targeted Ads by Google can now be blocked...
« Reply #2 on: April 11, 2021, 07:27:25 AM »
Google Is Testing Its Controversial New Ad Targeting Tech in Millions of Browsers. Here’s What We Know.
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/03/google-testing-its-controversial-new-ad-targeting-tech-millions-browsers-heres
https://amifloced.org/
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Offline polonus

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Re: FLoC Targeted Ads by Google can now be blocked...
« Reply #3 on: April 11, 2021, 12:35:55 PM »
Hi Asyn,

You can already test whether you are one of the ever changing 0,5% Google end-users followed by FLoC here:
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/04/am-i-floced-launch

Are you a victim of that kind of eneased fingerprinting?
Victims come standard from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Indonesia Raja, Japan, Mexico, New-Zealand , the Philipines,
and of course the U.S. of A.  in an ever-changing test-bed.

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Offline Asyn

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Re: FLoC Targeted Ads by Google can now be blocked...
« Reply #4 on: April 12, 2021, 09:28:49 AM »
Victims come standard from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Indonesia Raja, Japan, Mexico, New-Zealand , the Philipines,
and of course the U.S. of A.  in an ever-changing test-bed.
No European countries in the list, probably due to GDPR... 8)
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Offline Asyn

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Re: FLoC Targeted Ads by Google can now be blocked...
« Reply #5 on: April 15, 2021, 09:28:24 AM »
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Offline Asyn

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Re: FLoC Targeted Ads by Google can now be blocked...
« Reply #6 on: April 19, 2021, 07:56:55 AM »
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Offline Asyn

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Re: FLoC Targeted Ads by Google can now be blocked...
« Reply #7 on: April 20, 2021, 08:48:12 AM »
Microsoft disables Google's FLoC tracking in Microsoft Edge, for now
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/microsoft/microsoft-disables-googles-floc-tracking-in-microsoft-edge-for-now/

Note: Statements from Mozilla (Firefox) and Apple (Safari) are also included in the article.
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Offline bob3160

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Re: FLoC Targeted Ads by Google can now be blocked...
« Reply #8 on: April 20, 2021, 02:35:46 PM »
According to an Avast spokesperson,
The Avast Secure Browser will also be blocking FLoC
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Offline Asyn

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Offline polonus

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Re: FLoC Targeted Ads by Google can now be blocked...
« Reply #10 on: May 01, 2021, 01:21:21 PM »
One could also use a header to do so

Quote
function disable_floc($headers) {
    $headers['Permissions-Policy'] = 'interest-cohort=()';
    return $headers;
  }
 
add_filter('wp_headers', 'disable_floc');

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Offline polonus

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Re: FLoC Targeted Ads by Google can now be blocked...
« Reply #11 on: June 10, 2021, 10:53:04 PM »
Advertisers now joining the Google FLoC bandwaggon.
Read: https://digiday.com/marketing/as-ad-tech-firms-test-ways-to-connect-googles-floc-to-other-data-privacy-watchers-see-fears-coming-true/

End-users way out from this means installing the uBlock Origin adblocker extension in their browser of choice.
Microsoft disables Google's FLoC-tracking in Microsoft Edge:
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/microsoft/microsoft-disables-googles-floc-tracking-in-microsoft-edge-for-now/.

But MS is working on a variant of their own, so taking us from bad to worse.
When we reached out to Microsoft to confirm if FLoC was intentionally disabled,
we were not given a clear answer.
Microsoft instead pivoted to their favoring of a Microsoft-led proposal called PARAKEET.

How Big Tech's Autocracy is coming to America, enabling bad behavior towards end-users.

uBlock Origin is blocking FLoC.
See release notes for 1.35.0:
https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock/releases/tag/1.35.0.


Does our bob3160 know more about Microsofts' PARAKEET plans for the future?

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Offline Asyn

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Re: FLoC Targeted Ads by Google can now be blocked...
« Reply #12 on: June 11, 2021, 12:41:16 PM »
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Offline Asyn

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Re: FLoC Targeted Ads by Google can now be blocked...
« Reply #13 on: July 17, 2021, 12:23:03 PM »
Is Google's FLoC a solution to user privacy concerns?
https://blog.avast.com/google-floc-avast
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