Brave browser - the open source web navigator - has opposed Google's FLoC and has vowed not to implement the feature in its browser. The company has already disabled FLoC in its nightly builds for PC and Android with plans to release a stable version with the changes.
This announcement came via a blog post and follows closely with internet search engine DuckDuckGo's announcement that it too will opt out of Google's new user tracking system.
Brave urges users to "run away from Chrome," and says that FLoC, "materially harms user privacy, under the guise of being privacy-friendly."
This is due to three main reasons, FLoC tells advertisers and sites about your browsing history and surfing behaviour, information that the sites normally would not have access to. Brave also blames Google for misleading customers into thinking Chrome is privacy improving rather than impeding.
The company says that Google only compares Chrome to the status quo and does not mention browsers that do not send cookies or data to any sites at all. It calls the move self-serving and misleading.
Brave is also opposed to Google's concept that privacy is "only the absence of cross-site tracking" whereas it should be that no personal data should be exchanged in the first place.
It also says that Google is promoting a false notion of privacy by noting that categories such as politics, medical issues and other sensitive topics will be exempt from FLoC. The problem is that Google determines what categories are sensitive by recording user interaction and habits in the first place.
Brave also notes that FLoC is harmful to sites and publishers because it will group their niche audience in a cohort and then display that information to unrelated sites on the web. This can lead to potential loss of revenue for small businesses.
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