Google has decided that after years-long efforts they are scrapping plans to eliminate third-party cookies on Chrome.
The announcement made on Monday 22nd July 2024, revealed that the search giant plans to keep third-party cookies up and running for those who don’t disable them. However, to enhance user privacy while preserving advertising effectiveness, Google is planning to roll out a new solution: a one-time prompt that enables users to set preferences that will apply across Google browsing experiences.
Instead of deprecating third-party cookies, Google is striving to introduce a new experience in Chrome that lets people make an informed choice that applies across their web browsing, and to be able to adjust that choice at any time.
Third-party cookies, small data files that track individual users’ activity across the web – generally without user consent – have long been used to gather information and serve highly targeted ads. They’ve been blocked from browsers, including Mozilla Firefox and Safari, to enhance user privacy. However, Google, which commands more than 90% of the search market, has dragged its feet as it seeks to balance user privacy with advertisers’ demands.
In January 2020, Chrome promised to phase out the technology “within two years.” However, it soon became apparent that the ad industry was ill-prepared for the change, which led Google to extend its timeline. Since then, the tech giant has pushed back its deadline twice – most recently, in April of this year, citing regulatory concerns about Google’s Privacy Sandbox, the company’s suite of proposed cookie alternatives. Just months earlier, as testing began, Google had disabled third-party cookies for 1% of Chrome users in a global trial.
The decision to introduce a new user “experience” in place of sunsetting third-party cookies was made after much consideration of feedback “from a wide variety of stakeholders, including regulators like the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), publishers, web developers and standards groups, civil society, and participants in the advertising industry,” wrote Chavez.
With the new plans to expand third-party cookie user controls in Chrome, Google remains bullish on its argument that ad performance will remain strong even without cookies.
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