Online tracking: FLOC and Privacy Concerns

This lecture covers the concept of Federated Learning of Cohorts (FLOC) proposed by Google as a cookieless tracking method, where users are grouped based on browsing activity. It explains how FLOC works, from creating cohorts to displaying relevant ads. The lecture also addresses privacy concerns related to online tracking, including stateless tracking, evercookies, browser fingerprinting, canvas fingerprinting, and history sniffing. Countermeasures such as Do Not Track, third-party cookie blocking, browser extensions, and Tor are discussed. The presentation concludes by highlighting the pervasiveness of tracking beyond desktops, including mobile devices and smart TVs.