Google released Topics, a browser-based API (as part of its Privacy Sandbox initiative) duringJuly’s Chrome 115 update. Google designed the API to replace third-party cookies and stillpreserve privacy while allowing a browser to share information with third parties about a user’s interests. Essentially, Google believes introducing the Topics API into your browser settings will increase transparency and control over what information gets shared (for personalized ads). However, even with these improvements to online privacy, it still doesn’t prevent your data from being collected and shared.
You may want to avoid dealing with this Privacy Sandbox feature and turn off Google’s Topics API. Below, we show how to deactivate Google Chrome’s targeted ad tracking on anyserviceable smartphoneand PC web browser.
How to change the default search engine in Chrome
You don’t need Google to search in Chrome
You may not have realized that you accidentally opted into using Google’s enhanced privacy, essentially turning on the Topics API. But you can reverse this by turning off the API’s various ad collection channels. Below, we walk you through finding these settings and how to turn off Google Chrome’s ad tracking.
You can also typechrome://settings/adPrivacyinto the address field as a shortcut.
You’ll find three options on the Ad Privacy page:Ad Topics,Site-suggested ads, andAd measurement.
ClickingAd Topicsturns off browser history tracking for personalized ads. However, it doesn’t eliminate personalized ads (it also depends on your cookie settings and site-suggested ads). Still, it plays a role, so you may want to toggle off this option at the top.
ClickingSite-suggested adsturns off ads produced by your browsing activity. Turning off this setting means you won’t feel completely spied on while surfing the web. You can click the toggle at the top to deactivate this option.
ClickingAd measurementturns off collected data for how an ad performs. you’re able to click the toggle at the top to prevent this data from being measured and shared by visited sites.
We recommend turning off each of these settings. However, if you prefer to opt into this personalized ads program, Google allows you to control these topics (and websites) selectively. So, for any websites and interests you choose to hide, revisit the ad topics and site-suggested ads settings and then add these websites to the blocked list.
You may surf the web on your mobile browser more often than on your computer. The option to turn off Google Topics API isn’t exclusive to Chrome’s desktop browser. Check the steps below to learn how to access and turn off these ad tracking settings on mobile.
Individually tap onAd topics,Site-suggested ads, andAd measurementand toggle off all these options. You can selectively block websites and topics on the same page to reduce how much data Chrome tracks. But we recommend turning off these options to begin removing some online exposure.
Preserve your online privacy
Although turning off Google’s Topics API will help lessen the data collection flow for personalized ads, it doesn’t eliminate every trace. You still need to deactivate third-party cookies, turn on the Do Not Track request for cookies and site data, and consider browsing websites in incognito mode. If you’re an avid mobile browser user, you may also want to look into healthieralternatives for mobile browsing, which may be more suited to preserving your privacy.
