Google has proposed a new mechanism to replace the dreaded, privacy-invading third-party cookie, but privacy activists aren't happy about it.

The search giant has been planning to ditch cookies, which allow advertisers to track users’ movements across the web, for years. The company recently announced that it was ditching its first attempt, called Federated Learning of Cohorts (FLoC), in favor of a new mechanism called Topics. While Google claims that Topics incorporates feedback it received from testing FLoC, privacy-conscious people say it’s unwise to expect a Google solution to completely avoid tracking.

"Topics can be seen as the natural evolution of FLoC in Google's ongoing, semi-committed battle against targeted advertising," Brian Chappell, chief security strategist at BeyondTrust, told Lifewire via email. "I say 'semi-committed' because Google is the company it is because of advertising."

Mechanisms like FLoC and Topics are the result of Internet users becoming increasingly uncomfortable with the extent to which large data-collecting companies like Google are tracking, analyzing, and targeting them.