Google to trial new alternative to cookies after ‘Floc’ falls short

The testing of Topics is due to start in the coming months

Google’s new alternative is called Topics, which groups users into baskets of choices based on topics such as “fitness” or “travel and transportation”.

Google has announced a new alternative to cookies after its original replacement was deemed unsatisfactory for advertisers and users alike.

Cookies track the websites a user visits and are typically used by advertisers for individual specific ad targeting. The impact of this technology, which has been at the core of advertising and data insights for decades, on user privacy is why large tech companies are being pressured to move away from them.

Google’s new alternative ...