Google confirms bad news for 3 billion Chrome users

Google’s Surprise Decision on Third-Party Cookies

In 2020, Google announced its intention to work on a solution to eliminate third-party cookies on its Chrome search engine.
This move followed similar decisions by competitors such as Safari and Firefox, who had already bid farewell to cookies.
It seemed like the path towards eliminating cookies on the world’s most widely used search engine, with around 3 billion users, was clear.
However, last Monday, Google surprised everyone by announcing that it would not be removing third-party cookies from its browser.
Instead, the tech giant plans to introduce new features that will allow users to make informed choices and enhance their privacy.

The specifics of these new features have not been fully disclosed yet.
It is likely that users will have the autonomy to choose whether to continue with tracking cookies or switch to Google’s semi-anonymous Topics API and its semi-private browsing option.
Users should be able to change their preferences at any time.

Antonio Chavez, Vice President of Privacy Sandbox at Google, stated, “Instead of deprecating third-party cookies, we would introduce a new Chrome experience that enables people to make an informed choice that applies to all their web browsing.” Privacy Sandbox is Google’s platform designed to explore innovative solutions that significantly improve online privacy while preserving the current ad-supported Internet ecosystem.

Since 2020, when Google announced the farewell to cookies and the launch of Privacy Sandbox, the company has engaged in discussions with various regulatory bodies, such as the UK Competition and Markets Authority, as well as with web development firms, publishers, and advertisers.
These dialogues have shown that Privacy Sandbox has the potential to achieve its intended goals, albeit requiring time for the transition.
Chavez emphasized, “This transition requires significant work and will impact publishers, advertisers, and all stakeholders in online advertising.”

Google’s investments in Privacy Sandbox will continue as the company strives to reach a solution that satisfies all parties involved.
Regulatory bodies are now acknowledging Google’s decision, which took them by surprise.

Understanding Cookies

Cookies are small text files used by all websites and stored in the user’s browser.
These files contain user preferences regarding language, location, and sometimes even personal information.
Information is exchanged between the browser and the web server, allowing the website to recognize visitor settings upon their return.
The collected data can be used for advertising profiling, displaying only banners related to topics that interest the user.
While considered a privacy concern, cookies are meant to be gradually phased out, although Google has opted not to do so at present.