Google changes its mind about abandoning third-party cookies in Chrome, but promises to improve privacy

After years of uncertainty, Google said it is no longer considering plans to completely phase out third-party cookies in the Chrome browser. Instead, it will introduce a new interface that will allow users to choose whether they want to share their data with websites and advertisers. The Privacy Sandbox ad serving and analysis standard is still seen by the company as an important initiative, but is no longer the only alternative.

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According to Digiday, Google is discussing the issue with regulators, including the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), and plans to hold a meeting with representatives of the advertising industry soon. Despite this, details about how the new solution will be implemented remain vague, and the exact implementation timeline has not been specified.

The company emphasizes that the Privacy Sandbox remains a priority and intends to continue investing in its development. “We will continue to provide Privacy Sandbox APIs and invest in technology to further enhance the privacy and usability of Chrome,” Google said, announcing plans to add new features to the sandbox, such as the recently announced IP address protection mode. incognito Chrome.

The move could be a lifesaver for the advertising industry, which has been wary of the consequences of ditching third-party cookies. At the same time, if Chrome users opt out of tracking en masse, sandbox APIs could become a major tool for ad targeting.

Google cites encouraging results from its own Privacy Sandbox tests, which demonstrate the potential for ad performance to remain effective without the use of third-party cookies. However, many publishers are skeptical of the Privacy Sandbox and complain about a lack of transparency, limited testing capabilities and declining advertising revenue.

According to recent tests conducted by Google from January to March this year, the alternatives offered through the Privacy Sandbox showed promising results. For example, Google Display Ads saw an 89% recovery in ad spend, while Display & Video 360 saw an 86% recovery. The return on investment was 97% and 95%, respectively. These data raise hopes that Privacy Sandbox technologies can help restore advertising performance without the use of third-party cookies.

However, these are only preliminary results, and advertising industry experts point out that testing Privacy Sandbox on 1% of Chrome users limits the ability to draw reliable conclusions. Additionally, interest in testing among publishers has waned in recent months, and some have stopped devoting resources to these experiments.

Google’s decision to keep third-party cookies in Chrome, which are created directly by websites themselves, may be a boon for the advertising industry, but it also calls into question its long-term strategy for privacy and protecting user data. While the company will continue to develop Privacy Sandbox, the issue remains open for advertisers and web publishers.