Google Reverses Decision To Kill Third-Party Cookies In Chrome

Google announced on Monday that it will not kill third-party cookies in Chrome after all. Instead, the company plans to introduce a new browsing experience that will allow users to make informed choices about their web browsing preferences.

This shift marks a significant departure from Google’s previous plan to phase out third-party cookies by early 2025.

Google’s decision to retain third-party cookies is a relief for online publishers and advertisers who rely on these cookies to target ads and measure performance.

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Anthony Chavez, vice president of Google’s Privacy Sandbox initiative, emphasized that killing cookies would have negatively impacted these stakeholders. The new approach aims to elevate user choice and provide more control over browsing data.

Google’s updated strategy involves introducing additional privacy controls, such as IP protection in Chrome’s Incognito mode and ongoing improvements to Privacy Sandbox APIs.

The company is discussing this new path with regulators and will engage with the industry as it rolls out these changes.

However, regulatory bodies like the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) have expressed concerns about Google’s Privacy Sandbox, fearing it might limit competition and give Google an unfair advantage in the digital advertising market.

Over the past few years, Google’s plans to eliminate third-party cookies have faced numerous delays and regulatory hurdles. Originally set to phase out by the end of 2022, the deadline was pushed to late 2024 and then to early 2025.

In January 2024, Google began rolling out a new feature called tracking protection, which restricts third-party cookies by default for 1% of Chrome users globally. This move was seen as a step towards eliminating cookies.

However, concerns about the readiness and effectiveness of Privacy Sandbox prompted further delays.

Shortly after Google’s announcement on Monday, the CMA stated that it was considering the impact of Google’s change in direction.

The digital advertising industry will be closely watching how these developments unfold and what it mean for the future of online advertising and user privacy.