Google Won’t Deprecate Third-Party Cookies on Chrome Anytime Soon; Here Is Why

Google has shared that it will not deprecate third-party cookies from its Chrome browser as previously planned but can still be used to target ads based on user interest, without identifying them and is said to be better at measuring ad effectiveness and personalised content.

The tech giant has confirmed it will not disable third-party cookies by default, instead, users will have the option to disable them, similar to Apple's app-tracking feature introduced a few years ago.

The transition from third-party cookies to the Privacy Sandbox is expected to affect publishers and advertisers. To address this, Google has implemented a new experience on its Chrome browser that allows users to make a choice regarding third-party cookies. More details will be shared soon.

Anthony Chavez, Vice President of the Privacy Sandbox at Google, stated, "We developed the Privacy Sandbox with the goal of finding innovative solutions that meaningfully improve online privacy while preserving an ad-supported internet that supports a vibrant ecosystem of publishers, connects businesses with customers, and offers all of us free access to a wide range of content."

Google also has shared early testing results, which indicate that using the Privacy Sandbox API without third-party cookies can help publishers improve monetisation and mitigate signal loss. As per the company, an incremental 13% uplift for publishers on Google Ad Manager and a 3% uplift for those on Google AdSense.

The Privacy Sandbox aims to phase out third-party cookies, which have raised privacy concerns due to their ability to track users across websites.

Google has developed the Privacy Sandbox by consulting various stakeholders, including developers, publishers, the UK's Competition and Markets Authority and Information Commissioner's Office, civil society groups, and the advertising industry.

The company emphasises that transitioning from third-party cookies will impact how ads are targeted but assures that user privacy will be significantly enhanced without compromising ad-supported content availability.