Since 2020, Google has been promising to remove third-party cookies from Chrome, the world's most popular web browser. This is harder to do than to say: advertising allows an entire section of the internet and millions of people to live (or sometimes simply survive) within an industry worth tens of billions of dollars. There was no question of doing just anything, but the status quo no longer seemed possible.
Twists and turns
Third-party cookies indeed raise the question of tracking internet users without their knowledge. Not to mention regulatory issues like the GDPR in Europe or similar texts elsewhere in the world (like in California). In short, Google had every interest in finding a replacement solution, especially since Safari and Firefox already block third-party cookies by default. Over the years, the company has offered several alternatives, the latest being the Privacy Sandbox, a mechanism designed to preserve privacy while maintaining an ad-funded web.
After much procrastination, Google announced last July that Chrome will not kill advertising cookies after all. Instead, the web giant offered an options window giving the user the choice of whether or not to accept third-party cookies. A window that resembles, in principle, what Apple has implemented in iOS for several years.
The saga has a new twist: Anthony Chavez, vice president for the Privacy Sandbox, has announced that Chrome will not deploy the famous advertising tracking request screen. Cookie management remains confined to the browser's privacy settings. Everything changes, so nothing changes.
The executive acknowledges that the approach envisaged last summer was not unanimously accepted within the industry - "divergent perspectives," he euphemistically puts it. Google, however, is maintaining the Privacy Sandbox, whose role could be different. A new roadmap will be announced in the coming months, after consulting with partners and regulators.
"The adoption of privacy-enhancing technologies has accelerated, new opportunities have emerged to protect user browsing through AI, and the regulatory framework has evolved considerably globally," he explains to justify this new change of tack. Chrome, however, continues to enrich its Incognito mode, which already blocks third-party cookies. A new feature, IP protection, is expected in the third quarter of 2025.
Source: Google
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