Instead, the search giant will introduce a new option in Chrome to let users decide how to manage their online privacy and ad tracking.
After years of indecision on the issue of third-party cookies, Google has finally made a decision: on Monday, the company revealed that it would no longer pursue its plan to cut off support for third-party cookies in Chrome. Instead, Google played up other options that would hand more control of privacy and tracking to Chrome users.
As one alternative solution, Google touted its Privacy Sandbox, a set of tools in Chrome designed to help you manage third-party cookies that track you and deliver targeted ads. Google said that the performance of this tool’s APIs would improve over time following greater industry adoption. That transition is likely to require a lot of effort by publishers, advertisers, and other participants, so Google has something else up its sleeve.
«In light of this, we are proposing an updated approach that elevates user choice», Google said in a Monday blog post. «Instead of deprecating third-party cookies, we would introduce a new experience in Chrome that lets people make an informed choice that applies across their web browsing, and they’d be able to adjust that choice at any time.»
The latest move follows years of vacillation by Google on how to deal with third-party cookies. The company initially aimed to start blocking such cookies in 2022. After that time frame came and went, Google postponed the process until the second half of 2024.
