Google To Keep Cookies
- by Laurie Sullivan @lauriesullivan, July 22, 2024
Google said on Monday that it will scrap its years-long efforts to eliminate third-party cookies on Chrome.
The search company plans to keep third-party cookies for those who don’t want to disable them, but will roll out a new solution that gives people a choice of how and when to protect their privacy in Chrome. They can adjust that choice at any time.
"We're discussing this new path with regulators, and will engage with the industry as we roll this out," Anthony Chavez, vice president of Privacy Sandbox, wrote in a blog post published Monday.
Developers will continue to have access to Privacy Sandbox APIs, so they can invest in them to further improve privacy and utility.
Chavez thanked all companies that have worked with Google for the past four years to develop, test and adopt Privacy Sandbox. He also said Google intends to offer additional privacy controls, with plans to introduce IP Protection into Chrome's Incognito mode.
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Small data files containing third-party cookies to track individual users’ activity across the web -- typically without user consent -- have long been used to gather information and serve targeted ads. They have been blocked from some browsers -- such as Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox and Safari -- to enhance user privacy.
It's not clear how this will effect Microsoft and whether or not the company will continue to offer the API.
In March, Microsoft Advertising said it would adopt Google Privacy Sandbox for its privacy standards, although it acknowledged the limitations such as those identified by the IAB Tech Lab and changes required by UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).
In a statement released then, Microsoft said it has given “preliminary support” to Google Chrome’s Privacy Sandbox APIs across Microsoft Advertising products, and will work to integrate these new standards.
It also will attempt to minimize disruption to advertising and continue to contribute to the "innovation of privacy enhancing technologies to fully support the requirements of digital advertising."
