Web Design

What’s Happening with Google’s Tough Cookies?

Author
LibbyPollard
Published
26th September 2024
Length
5 minute read

Cookies have been part of the internet since 1994. In the 30 years since then, they’ve become a constant feature of everyday website usage.

Cookies let websites recognise your device and protect your information—even letting you choose what cookie settings will apply to you. However, Google aims to phase out third-party cookies and make cookie control mandatory.

What are Third-Party Cookies?

Third-party cookies, as opposed to regular cookies, allow for cross-website tracking, allowing the website to track your activity on other websites. This lets them show personalised ads and other content when you visit websites, overall trying to enhance the user’s website experience by being more tailored to their needs.

What’s Happening To Them?

Google announced in 2020 that it would be phasing out third-party cookies due to people wanting to have more control over their privacy on websites and the internet in general. Many websites don’t allow people to fully use their sites without cookies, so you have to agree to their terms in order to use the site properly. This decision was made in August 2019 when they announced the Privacy Sandbox. This aims to protect users’ data and enable companies to continue to reach their target audiences. One part of this was announcing the gradual removal of third-party cookies on websites to protect people’s privacy.

However, in an update in July 2024, Google announced that instead of deprecating the third-party cookie, they would introduce a new user experience that would let Chrome users make an educated choice that would be applied to their entire website experience and can be changed at any time.

 

How is this going to affect businesses?

  • Less Precise Tracking – Giving people clear choices on which data can be given to all websites can put some businesses at a disadvantage, seeing as it can lead to businesses needing to be able to target their audience appropriately and effectively. Yet, many businesses and companies have been developing ways to keep effectively catching their audience.
  • Possible Innovations – This could also lead to innovations for companies to reach their audiences differently, create new alternatives to get the information they need and keep the users’ information still private and secure as they see fit, being able to get the most necessary of information to be able to target them just as effectively.

Conclusion

Overall, the changing and phasing out of third-party cookies will really affect users and businesses. However, user privacy is the biggest priority of the initiative. Not allowing companies to track users’ data in invasive ways means that they will have to change how they get their information in ways the user knows about and respects their privacy.

Though the complete withdrawal of third-party cookies is less likely to happen altogether, the changes will make businesses have to think of different ways to acquire the information they need. Making cookie control mandatory, will cause online businesses to be more mindful when it comes to what information and data they take from users. And also give internet users a lot of control of what data they give to online businesses.

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