I presume that you already know that there are a number of nasty things that Google does to gather data on users of its G-Suite Web apps and search engine, so I'm not going to go into detail on exactly what all of those are. However, it does do this and it sells that data to third-party advertisers targeting specific groups of users. One of the ways it does this is through the use of browser fingerprinting — nasty little scripts that detect and report various identifying attributes of the browser(s) you use, the plugins/extensions you've installed and the OS on which it's running, among other things.

Fingerprinting differs from cookies in that cookies are restricted to the specific domains you visit. Cookies for the site example.com cannot be shared with coinmarketcap.com, for example. However, fingerprinting has no such limitations. With fingerprinting, a history of all the sites you visit through your browser will be gathered and used to build a profile that advertisers can use to determine your interests. As far as you're concerned, this is really bad, particularly if you visit certain sites you wouldn't want your employers, friends and family to know about. Next time you log into FB or Amazon (both of which use fingerprinting/tracker scripts), the site's targeted ads might show you a pair of running shoes (which isn't a problem), but it could just as easily show you a sɛx toy (which very well could be a problem), thanks to all that time you spent on Porn Hub (which uses fingerprinting/tracker scripts) or xHamster. For all you know, the algorithm might make the same recommendations to your friends if it determines they're in the same group(s) as you. Can you say "awkward and embarrassing"?

Alright, it does this nasty thing, but how? What can I do about it?

Google has created a technology called "Federated Learning of Cohorts" (FLoC), which it has started beta testing in Chrome version 89 and later. It's enabled by default and most users are likely unaware.

• To disable it, go to "Settings" and find the "Third-Party Cookies" option and make sure it is turned off/disabled.
• Then, head to the Electronic Freedom Foundation's (EFF) "Am I FLoCed?" site to double check.
• After that, download a better browser (such as Brave or Firefox), which respects your privacy and helps you reduce your online fingerprint. At minimum, install the Privacy Badger, Privacy Possum, HTTPS Everywhere and Ghostery addons/extensions and an ad blocker or three from the applicable sites.
• Finally, change your search engine to Presearch, a crypto-backed service which rewards you with crypto for using it. (Whatever you do, don't sign up with a Google account; that's self-defeating).

While I personally prefer FF to Brave for a number of reasons (including the isolated containers plugins), the advantage of Brave is that you can earn cryptocurrency (BAT) for using it. Brave also supports a number of Fingerprint Defender plugins (as well as many others for privacy and security) that I use with Firefox and it can use Tor Tabs (including when searching through Brave Search).

Post Thumbnail image copyright Electronic Freedom Foundation (EFF)