Imane Fouad

Imane Fouad is a Postdoctoral Researcher at University of Lille, working with CNRS and Inria in the SPIRALS Team. Her research focuses on web privacy, tracking detection, and cookie policy compliance.

Her educational background includes:

• Master's degree in Computer Science from Polytech'Nice-Sophia (2016-2017)
• Computer Software Engineering degree from Institut national des postes et télécommunications (INPT Morocco) (2014-2017)
• Mathematics and Physics studies at CPGE LYCEE TECHNIQUE MOHAMEDIA (2012-2014)

Dr. Fouad's research interests span multiple aspects of web privacy and security. She specializes in detection and measurement of web tracking technologies, with particular focus on cookie policies, browser fingerprinting, and invisible pixel tracking. Her work bridges technical analysis with legal compliance considerations, especially regarding GDPR and other privacy regulations. She investigates how tracking mechanisms operate across different website categories, including health-related sites, and evaluates the effectiveness of current privacy protection tools and filter lists.

Her research has revealed significant gaps in current tracking detection methods, showing that popular filter lists miss substantial portions of tracking requests. She has developed novel techniques for identifying tracking behaviors through analysis of invisible pixels and other web elements.

Scientific awards:

• PhD International Mobility Program "DocWalker" UCA (2020)

Dr. Fouad is an active member of the SPIRALS research team at Inria, focusing on privacy-enhancing technologies and web security analysis. Her work combines empirical measurement studies with legal analysis to provide comprehensive understanding of web tracking ecosystems.