Google has announced that it will not disable third-party cookies in its Chrome browser, despite years of efforts to replace them through the Privacy Sandbox project. According to Anthony Chavez, vice president of the Privacy Sandbox initiative, the company has abandoned plans to implement a feature that would prompt users to voluntarily disable cookies. Instead, the technology will remain in Chrome in its current form — possibly forever.
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Since 2019, Google has been working on the Privacy Sandbox, a new way to target ads that improves user privacy. The approach involves doing away with third-party cookies, small pieces of code that advertisers use to track users’ actions across the web.
Google recently planned to add a dialog box to Chrome that would prompt users to disable third-party cookies and use the new technology for greater privacy. However, Chavez said the company is “encouraged that the advertising industry has become more serious about privacy,” so there will be no need to force the cookie opt-out. Users will still be able to manually disable them in the browser settings if they want, Ars Technica reports.
While Privacy Sandbox hasn’t achieved its initial goals, Google isn’t shutting down the project entirely. The team will continue to refine Chrome’s Incognito mode, which already blocks third-party cookies, and will add IP address protection later this year to combat cross-site tracking. Chavez acknowledges that the Privacy Sandbox API will now play a slightly different role, and development of the tool will continue.
Interestingly, experts link Google’s decision to antitrust lawsuits. Since the launch of Privacy Sandbox, the company has lost three court cases, two of which concern dominance in search and advertising technologies. Authorities believe that Chrome also gives Google too much influence, and a forced refusal of cookies could increase suspicions of market monopolization.
Overall, on the one hand, storing cookies is a bit of a step backwards, as the technology is already considered outdated and unsafe (Privacy Sandbox, at least on paper, offered more privacy). On the other hand, a mass transition to new technologies would increase Google’s control over digital advertising, and the real benefits for users have yet to be assessed.
However, the company still hopes that the new technology will become more widespread over time. In the coming months, Google will continue to negotiate with industry partners to find a compromise between privacy and profitability.