Google announced Monday that it plans to store third-party cookies in its Chrome browser.
Google plans to continue using third-party cookies in its Chrome browser, the company announced Monday. For years, the company has promised to phase out the small packets of code designed to track users across the web.
The major shift comes amid concerns from advertisers, the company’s biggest source of revenue. They say the loss of cookies in the world’s most popular browser will limit their ability to collect information to personalize ads, making them dependent on Google’s user databases.
The UK Competition and Markets Authority has also investigated Google's plan over concerns it would hamper competition in digital advertising.
“Instead of disabling third-party cookies, we’re introducing a new experience in Chrome that lets people make an informed choice across their entire web browser — and change that choice at any time,” Anthony Chavez, vice president of the Google-backed Privacy Sandbox initiative, said in a blog post.
Since 2019, the Alphabet unit has been working on the Privacy Sandbox initiative, which aims to improve online privacy while supporting digital businesses. One of the main goals is to phase out third-party cookies.
Cookies are packets of information that allow websites and advertisers to identify individual web surfers and track their surfing behavior. However, they can also be used for unwanted surveillance.
In the European Union, the use of cookies is regulated by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which requires publishers to obtain explicit consent from users to store their cookies. Major browsers also offer the ability to delete cookies on command.
Chavez said Google is working with regulators such as the UK's CMA and the Information Commissioner's Office, as well as publishers and privacy groups, on the new approach, while continuing to invest in its Privacy Sandbox program.
The announcement drew mixed reactions.
“Advertising companies no longer need to prepare for the abrupt demise of third-party cookies,” Evelyn Mitchell-Wolf, an analyst at eMarketer, said in a statement.
Lena Cohen, a staff technologist at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, said cookies can lead to consumer harm, such as predatory ads that target vulnerable groups. “Google’s decision to continue allowing third-party cookies, despite other major browsers blocking them for years, is a direct result of its advertising-based business model,” Cohen said in a statement.
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