How to Disable FLoC in Google Chrome

Google’s Federated Learning of Cohorts (FLoC) has drawn a lot of attention ever since the company announced the standard earlier this year. Major browser makers, including Firefox, Edge, Safari, Brave, and Vivaldi, have expressed disinterest with Google’s approach on FLoC, and WordPress has announced it will block FLoC on websites. Google has now added an option to let users opt out, and here’s how you can disable FLoC in Chrome.

Disable FLoC in Google Chrome (2021)

To better understand FLoC and how it impacts you as a user, go through our explainer on what is Google’s FLoC and why you should block it from our linked guide. To give you a quick summary, FLoC groups users with similar browsing habits into groups, and advertisers can serve targeted ads based on these groups. However, that could lead to fingerprinting, and you can avoid it by following the steps below to opt out of FLoC.

Opt Out of FLoC in Google Chrome Desktop

As first spotted by the folks over at gHacks, Google has added the option to disable FLoC (Privacy Sandbox) in Chrome Canary build 93.0.4528.0, but it might be hidden behind a Chrome flag. When I checked in Chrome Canary build 93.0.4530.1 on my Windows PC, the toggle was present without having to tweak Chrome flags. If you don’t see the feature, here’s how you can enable it::

1.  Open chrome://flags and search for ‘Privacy Sandbox Settings 2’.

Privacy Sandbox Settings 2

2. Then, choose “Enabled” from the dropdown menu next to the flag and restart your browser. You can directly access the flag by pasting the link below in Chrome’s address bar.

chrome://flags/#privacy-sandbox-settings-2

privacy sandbox settings enabled - opt out of floc in chrome

3. After restarting the browser, open Chrome’s Settings page and go to the “Privacy and security” tab from the left sidebar. Under the “Privacy and security” section, you will now see a new option titled “Privacy Sandbox”. You can directly access Privacy Sandbox from the following address:

chrome://settings/privacySandbox

privacy sandbox chrome settings

4. On the Privacy Sandbox page, you will see two toggles. Disable both the “Privacy Sandbox trials” and “FLoC” toggles and you are all set. Notably, disabling only the Privacy Sandbox trials toggle will automatically turn off FLoC.

disable - opt out of floc google chrome

That’s all. You have now opted out of Google’s FLoC tracking system and won’t be put in any advertiser groups.

Opt Out of FLoC in Google Chrome Mobile

1. Open Chrome on your smartphone and head to Settings. From the Settings page, open the “Privacy and security” section.

chrome privacy and security

2. Tap on the “Privacy Sandbox” option under the “Privacy and security” page. Then, disable the “Privacy Sandbox trials” toggle on the next page. And that’s it. You have successfully opted out of Chrome’s Privacy sandbox trials, thus, disabling Google’s FLoC in the process.

disable privacy sandbox trials - FloC in google chrome

Disable Google’s Privacy Sandbox Trials in Chrome

So, that’s how you can disable FLoC in Google Chrome. For more such tips, go through our article on the Chrome settings you should change. You could also consider switching to a privacy-friendly browser from our article on the best browsers for privacy or check out one of the best Google Chrome alternatives.

comment Comments 1
  • DENNIS E.Hale says:

    I have a Samsung Galaxy A02s. I think it’s the 2nd one in a row I have purchased and didn’t want to except the girl at the Tmobil kiosk quite cleverly talked/telemarketing old pro/conned me into purchasing around 6 months ago. I wanted a LG brand and designed phone that was much easier to understand how to use it and get into and out of everything concerning setup,personalizing it,finding out what is going on when it did things like changing settings for no reason I could understand. Anyway what I want to know is there a way to access the internet without be accosted by the people who run these sites and just look up simple things like historical sites you happen to like or shopping sites you prefer that aren’t part of the one’s like Facebook and and Google and Mr father of rockets and electricity that isn’t Tesla or Robert Goddard and definitely not NASA. He is a recipient of more federally subsidized tax payers money for both his miracles not space and car companies that have still never made a single dime of profit or legitimate gains ever in the 11 years Tesla electric cars have been produced as a profitable and innovative electric car for the average American citizen to buy. It won’t ever happen anyway, mainly because the average American citizen doesn’t exist in the way we used to be counted in that way. Today you might describe the average citizen as someone like me just a few years younger and instead of living in a travel trailer out in the desert on BLM land, illegally I will add with all the new and exciting rules for citizens like me and some others too but they will be vastly different rules be because of my age possibly and the era I grew up in,not to mention my enthenticity or the most likely kind of people who I am considered as being born unto. Definitely my political affiliations or even a lack of may be considered and don’t forget my lack of a police or criminal record only a few misdemeanor infractions and never even a charge of any felony ever. At 63 years old I have actually had a protect and serve me? Hardly, I have had a new style protector of the citizens robotic young and perfect hair cut young officer of the new law and order if this land smirk and give me a wide eyed funny guy look at what no felonies ever. Really this does happen, white, brown,black, or any other color will not safe one day soon in radio unfreeze or un recorded and watched continuously forever until we break this choke hold on everything we used to hold dear that once was rolled up into one nutshell we haven’t really taken good care of for quite a long time. We are about to lose it all and that also means maybe even your own precious life sooner than you normally would have anyway as comes to pass eventually in a normal life in most cases. I myself have lived a plenty long time and should have checked out more than a few times long ago. riding motorcycles of design that are still very fast today,such as the vintage kawasaki KZ900 I have today and still ride that beast occasionally. No matter,the infection that has invaded our Nation and the entire world too needs to be stopped some way or another before we completely loose even our rights to complain about anything at all. I have been kicked off the social chat thing in regards to the part ran by utube and probably Facebook and others too who are very connected in their rhetoric they’ve come back with a vengeance at even the last President we had before this imposter who stands up in front of nobody I would know or even associate with in case with if I knew who or what they imagine they believe in as a free thinking citizen of America as it used to be at one time until very recently. Whether you agree or disagree with my rambling and goings on about nothing more than freedoms we used to have. You need to remember one thing we once equally held as a real truth. To be able to agree or disagree about most anything reasonable or maybe not. Then say later to whom ever you were just speaking to walking up town and go on about your daily business whatever it happened to be a forget whatever ever you were debating about with whoever it was you bumped into up or down town. Probably by each other a drink at the local hangout spot that evening or shoot a game up pool betting for just a next round. Today we shoot at each other in peaceful night time peaceful protests instead as our country continues to burn in hatreds for each other in likewise ways,being fueled by politicians mostly on one side mostly. I won’t mention parties because somebody at the top of information central with keys to that connection and it really doesn’t matter,the small and unconnected people of America especially what’s considered as among the race of the floundering fathers are more reviled than all others in this not so great and a wonderful place to be from any longer. Maybe that’s going to change when the new bosses take over for who is my question to any who think that’s happening. No sorry senior or brother from another continent far away it will likely much worse he than where you came from whenever that was

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