It's a discreet but far-reaching about-face. Google announced this week that it was abandoning plans to deploy a dedicated pop-up window in Chrome to prompt users to enable its third-party cookie replacement, the Privacy Sandbox. In other words, the status quo remains: Internet users will have to go to Chrome's settings themselves if they wish to limit tracking by cookies.
Abandoned abandonment
"We have made the decision to maintain our current approach to third-party cookie choices in Chrome," writes Anthony Chavez, vice president of Privacy Sandbox at Google. "Users can continue to make their choices in the privacy and security settings of the browser.»
Announced with great fanfare in 2019, the gradual disappearance of third-party cookies was initially scheduled to take effect in 2022. But after several postponements, Google ended up proposing a more flexible transition, leaving users the choice of whether or not to accept this tracking. Now, even this compromise will not go any further.
Why this about-face? Google cites «divergent perspectives» on abandoning cookies, as well as a shifting regulatory environment. The firm is currently at the heart of several legal battles, particularly in the United States, where The courts believe it has a monopoly on online advertising. A federal judge even suggested that Google might be forced to divest some of its businesses, including its Chrome browser.
On the technical side, feedback from the advertising industry was hardly more encouraging. Several Google partners, such as BidSwitch and Index Exchange, reported compatibility issues between the Privacy Sandbox and the complex architecture of online advertising, which relies on real-time exchanges between multiple players. As a result, testing was delayed, and publishers favored more cost-effective solutions in the short term.
Google nevertheless assures that the Privacy Sandbox has not been abandoned. Elements of the project, such as IP Protection in private browsing, are still to be launched, notably in the third quarter of 2025. The company also promises to "gather industry feedback" and propose a new roadmap "in the coming months."
If the promise of a more privacy-friendly web is being postponed, it's also because Google is walking a tightrope. Removing third-party cookies without a viable solution would destabilize an entire sector of internet funding. And imposing one's own alternative too quickly would risk attracting the attention of already wary regulators.
In the meantime, third-party cookies continue to fuel targeted advertising campaigns, much to the chagrin of privacy advocates. As for the Privacy Sandbox, it remains a project on hold for now, caught between its technical ambitions, a certain political caution, and economic realities.
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