Google: What is this new user tracking method?

The implementation of this new tracking method was acted last December, then effectively implemented since February 16. Its goal is simple: allow advertisers to use fingerprinting to better determine the most suitable users for receiving a targeted advertising. According to The CNILthe fingerprinting is “A probabilistic technique aimed at identifying a user in a unique way on a website or a mobile application using the technical characteristics of his browser“.

Station to your digital imprint

The method thus makes it possible to determine which device is used by the user to connect, while offering more detailed data on its web footprint: Google can thus transmit the size of the screen used, the operating system or even Technical characteristics of its web browser. If the information collected is numerous enough, Google can then track the user when walking on the web, provide this data to advertisers and water the user of targeted advertisements according to their wanderings on the Internet. Especially since, and it is there that the rub: the methods of blocking cookies do not allow to counter this method of data collection.

Note that Google has, in the past, opposed such a method: “Unlike cookies, users cannot erase their digital footprint and therefore cannot control the way their information is collected. We believe that this affects the choice of the user and that it is a mistake“had been able to declare the firm in 2019 in A dedicated article. Inevitably, the implementation of the FingerPrinting was immediately disputed, so that quickly, a spokesperson wanted to reassure with the BBC: “We continue to give users the choice to receive or not personalized ads, and we will work with the entire sector to encourage responsible use of data“. Not certain that such a declaration is enough to calm the ardor … especially as the use of FingerPrinting (and especially for advertising purposes) requires the consent of the span.