DuckDuckGo’s new tools can stop Google from tracking you in Chrome

Google promised to remove the third-party cookies from Chrome that are widely used to track users online for advertising purposes. But Google remains one of the most important players in the online ads business. The company will replace the cookies with a technology that it claims will enhance user privacy. FLoC (Federated Learning of Cohorts) -- the new user tracking technology -- analyzes browsing history to put the user into groups with similar interests. They will then be served personalized ads based on that data.

Google says FLoC will protect user privacy while user data is collected for personalized ads. Some have criticized Google’s new tool and the way the company is talking about it. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) explained in a series of blog posts why FLoC is a terrible idea, saying that the technology might lead to abuse, allowing third parties to fingerprint users. More recently, the non-profit launched a tool that tells users whether they’ve been included in Google’s early FLoC pilot. The test enrolls users automatically, without letting them choose whether or not to participate and without offering clear instructions on how to opt-out once they're in.

DuckDuckGo, the company behind a popular Google Search alternative that doesn’t track users, is taking matters into its own hands, looking to block Chrome's FLoC tracking with two separate tools.