In an attempt to replace third-party cookies with interest-based advertising, Google has proposed a new project today (25 January) called Topics that will help advertisers target ads to users in way that protects their privacy.

Google said last year that it was going to stop tracking users’ browsing activity for the purpose of selling ads, as a result of growing privacy concerns, citing figures that 72pc of people feel that almost all their online activity is being tracked by tech firms and advertisers.

A proposed third-party cookie ban, intended to come into effect in 2022, was then pushed back to 2023. For the privacy conscious, the ban was a win. But for the vocal ad industry, it was potentially disastrous and has been a source of tension with Google.

To balance ad revenue with privacy, Google launched the Privacy Sandbox, an initiative that aims to create technologies that both protect user privacy and give companies and developers tools to building thriving online businesses.

Federated Learning of Cohorts (Floc) was the Google’s controversial interest-based ad project that was proposed as part of the initiative exactly a year ago today. Now, it is being replaced with Topics – a new way to solve a problem that has worried users, companies and governments alike.

What is Topics?

Topics is an API that runs on browsers (just Chrome for now) to compartmentalise websites visited by users into categories such as fitness, travel and transportation, and sports to represent their top interests for any given week.

These are then shared with advertisers who can use it to tailor their ads to the preferences of users. Google said that topics are only saved for three weeks, and old topics are deleted.

“Topics are selected entirely on your device without involving any external servers, including Google servers. When you visit a participating site, Topics picks just three topics, one topic from each of the past three weeks, to share with the site and its advertising partners,” said Vinay Goel, product director of Privacy Sandbox.

He said that topics enables browsers to give users “meaningful transparency and control over data”, and that, in Chrome, users will be able to see their topics and remove any they don’t like. What’s more, users can disable the feature entirely if they wish to.

Google has designed Topics to exclude sensitive categories such as gender or race. Goel said that because Topics is powered by the browser, it provides users with “a more recognisable way to see and control” how their data is shared when compared to the third-party cookie system.

A developer trial of Topics with user controls will be launched on Chrome soon, which will enable website developers and the ad industry to try it out and give feedback.

“The Privacy Sandbox is one of the most ambitious, important efforts we’ve ever undertaken, and we’re profoundly grateful for the engagement, feedback and partnership from everyone who’s participated,” Goel added.

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