Google Chrome’s Third-party Cookie Announcement – What It Means For You

On 22nd July 2024, the Vice President of Google’s Privacy Sandbox, Anthony Chavez, announced that Google was not going to proceed with the depreciation of third-party cookies in Google Chrome.

This came as a shock to most in the digital space, as Google has been working tirelessly towards this goal since first announcing the intention to phase out third-party cookies in Chrome back in January 2020.

Feedback and intervention from industry members, regulatory bodies and advertisers stalled Google’s progress towards this goal on several occasions, most notably the UK CMA’s order to halt the phase out until competition concerns were addressed. Whilst they haven’t given much insight into their internal decision-making, Google acknowledged that phasing out third-party cookies would place significant pressure on many of those involved in online advertising.

“At the same time, we recognize this transition requires significant work by many participants and will have an impact on publishers, advertisers, and everyone involved in online advertising.”

This was the reasoning given behind the switch, announcing that they will instead offer Chrome users the ability to make an “informed choice” regarding the use of cookies, that will apply across their web browsing experience. Detail about this “new experience” remains slim, though Google is actively discussing with regulators, and discussion with the industry will continue as the feature is rolled out.

Let’s understand how we got to this point, and what this latest development could mean for you.

Google’s third-party cookie timeline

First, we’ll look back at the key points in Google’s timeline as they progressed toward the phase out.

In all, Google delayed the phase-out on 3 occasions, culminating in the abandonment of the plan completely in July 2024. Google hasn’t alluded to a timeline for their proposed new experience, only that discussion with regulators is ongoing. In this case, it looks like they’re seeking regulatory approval beforehand in the hope of avoiding any more unexpected delays.

What about Chrome’s competitors?

When it comes to third-party cookies, other browsers that hold significant portions of market share, including Apple’s Safari and Mozilla’s Firefox, already block them by default, which does put Chrome on the back foot regarding user privacy in online advertising. Tracking and advertising to users is limited in both Safari and Firefox in comparison to Chrome, blocking methods that rely on third-party cookies from functioning and making those methods less reliable.

Other browsers also go further at blocking other forms of tracking that don’t rely on third-party cookies. Safari’s Intelligent Tracking Protection can restrict the lifespan of first-party cookies and delete tracking traces between tabs, amongst other privacy-centric measures.

That said, Chrome’s 65% market share and Google’s multi-billion-dollar advertising ecosystem were bound to make phasing out third-party cookies challenging, as Google has certainly found out. With Google simultaneously facing an anti-trust lawsuit, and having now been declared a monopoly by US courts, it could be argued that the decision to shelve third-party cookie deprecation isn’t all that surprising, as Google will be trying to position itself in the best light possible.

What does the decision mean for you?

Whilst detail is slim on the exact nature of Google’s new Chrome experience, we can unpack what the retention of third-party cookies in Chrome will mean, and consider what an experience like Google describes could mean for website owners and those in online advertising.

A cookie-less future for measurement?

First and foremost, although third-party cookies are here to stay in Chrome, they will continue to be an unreliable component of web analytics and measurement. As mentioned, other browsers already block them by default, and whilst Google hasn’t been able to fulfil its ultimate vision of blocking them in Chrome, the tools and APIs implemented as part of the Privacy Sandbox initiative are here to stay. These tools were designed to act as an alternative to methods propped up by third-party cookies, and as Google will continue to actively invest in them, adoption of them will continue to grow.

Factor in that businesses and advertisers had already been preparing for the looming depreciation of third-party cookies, a technology that has been around since the late-90s, investing both time and money, there’s little reason for them to revert. That doesn’t consider the ethical stance of individual businesses and advertisers either, who even if they have the option, may choose to simply not rely on third-party cookies anymore now that they’re more aware of how invasive they can be.

First-party data, which as far as we know Google isn’t limiting as part of its new experience, unlike Apple, is also more reliable and of a higher quality than most of what can be gained from third-party cookie use. Analytics platforms like Google Analytics 4 have also been built from the ground up with first-party data in mind, so it wouldn’t make sense for Google to place limitations on it.

Even with Google maintaining them in Chrome, there’s plenty to suggest that third-party cookies are facing an inevitable phase-out, not by the heavy-handed actions of a select few businesses, but by a subtle transition of many advertisers towards alternatives and users making more choices that favour their own privacy. Technologies like those forged in the Privacy Sandbox and Chrome’s new experience will only accelerate that.

This all means that if you’ve already adopted a first-party centric measurement solution, and it’s what you rely on to learn about your website, users, and audiences, there’s not a lot to be concerned about. You should continue to invest in solutions that are future-proofed, more reliable, and elevate the trust between you and your users, positioning you as more sustainable, competitive, and trustworthy.

What about online advertising?

For online advertising, the use of third-party data is more prevalent. In Google Ads, you can use third-party data to segment any first-party audience, enriching your remarketing tags with data on users that fit into specific demographic categories to show remarketing ads to members of those categories.

However, Google does already limit what can be done with third-party data in Google Ads beyond that. For example, you’re not able to directly create audiences for targeting using such data, and there are strict limitations related to site ownership and third-party advertiser presence on your site. With that, third-party data is already on the back foot.

Other platforms, like Microsoft Ads, rely on third-party cookie data for custom audiences, whilst Meta’s pixel can use a combination of first and third-party data to more effectively reach customers on Meta platforms and support reporting. With Google retaining third-party cookies in Chrome, these platforms may not be as compelled to shift away from third-party cookies use with the same haste, facing less pressure to do so.

Google’s initial Privacy Sandbox API testing revealed that removing third-party cookies and adopting the Sandbox APIs resulted in an 18-20% drop in programmatic revenue for advertisers. Whilst significant, this was a substantial improvement on a previous study, and tools that support this improvement, like interest groups, will continue to be worked on by Google.

At the time, it also required the strategic planning and haste to implement and make such tools work for you, which was ultimately what stalled Google’s phase out. With no looming threat of a deprecation anymore, you can take a more calculated approach to implementing such tools, which should benefit you on the performance front.

Whilst there is nothing to prevent you from relying on third-party cookies to support your advertising at present, taking a forward-thinking approach is bound to be more sustainable in the long term, continuing to invest in solutions that are future-proofed, more reliable, and privacy-centric.

Remember, it’ll be a user choice

All things considered, remember that providing Google can please regulators, the decision to retain third-party cookies in Chrome will effectively be passed to the user. If Google’s description of their new experience is anything to go by, the choice given to users will be clear, concise, and flexible, giving users the freedom to decide whether to favour their privacy, or receive more relevant advertising and remarketing.

With pointers to suggest that the majority of consumers would rather Chrome remove third-party cookies completely, it wouldn’t be farfetched to suggest that more users than not will choose to block them, putting us close to the reality that Google was trying to create all along, and rendering third-party cookies in Chrome largely obsolete.

Need our support?

Google’s latest announcement is an important one, and something we’ll keep a close eye on as more information becomes available.

To ensure your analytics setup is privacy-compliant, and your online advertising is prepared for a future with less third-party cookies, why not get in touch?