Google Replaces FLoC with Topics: What You Need to Know
Google's Topics API: A New Approach to Interest-Based Advertising
Google has discontinued its FLoC (Federated Learning of Cohorts) project, which aimed to replace cookies for interest-based advertising through the categorization of users into groups with similar interests. In its stead, the company has unveiled a new initiative known as Topics.
How Topics Works
The core concept behind Topics involves the browser itself learning about a user’s interests as they navigate the web. Browsing data will be retained for a period of three weeks. Currently, Google is limiting the number of topics to 300, with future expansion planned.
To determine user interests, Google will categorize visited websites based on these 300 predefined topics. For websites not yet categorized, a streamlined machine learning algorithm within the browser will estimate a relevant topic based on the domain name.
Image Credits: GoogleWhen a user encounters a website supporting the Topics API for advertising, the browser will share three topics of interest. These topics will represent one from each of the previous three weeks, randomly selected from the user’s top five topics for each week. This information can then be utilized by the website and its advertising partners to determine appropriate ad displays.
This system is designed to offer a more privacy-focused approach to ad selection, while also providing users with increased control and transparency compared to current practices. Users will have the ability to review, remove, and even completely disable the Topics API.
From FLoC to Topics: An Iterative Process
“The development of Topics was directly influenced by the insights gained from the earlier FLoC trials,” stated Ben Galbraith, Google’s Privacy Sandbox lead, during a press briefing. “We received valuable feedback from the community, and Topics represents our response to that input.”
Image Credits: GoogleGalbraith emphasized that Google has actively sought feedback from various stakeholders regarding this new proposal. Today’s announcement marks the beginning of a collaborative phase with the wider ecosystem. The adoption of the Topics API by other browser vendors remains to be seen, given their previous resistance to FLoC.
Topics as One Signal Among Many
For advertisers, Topics will function as just one potential signal for ad targeting. It can be combined with other data points, such as the content of the article a user is currently reading, or other contextual information.
Trials of the Topics API are scheduled to begin later this quarter. To facilitate understanding, Google has also released a detailed technical explanation outlining the proposal’s intricacies.
- FLoC was Google’s previous attempt at replacing cookies.
- Topics focuses on browser-based interest learning.
- Users will have control over their Topics data.