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Google will keep third-party cookies on Chrome and abandon its previously publicized plans to introduce an opt-out mechanism that would have allowed users to choose not to be tracked by the technology, the company announced in a blog post on April 22.
The tech giant will keep with its “current approach to offering users third-party cookie choice in Chrome,” wrote Anthony Chavez, vice president of Privacy Sandbox, “and will not be rolling out a new standalone prompt for third-party cookies.”
Google will allow users to manage their cookie preferences in their Chrome settings, backtracking on plans it announced last July to roll out a privacy prompt enabling seamless user opt-outs.
This previous plan was publicized as part of the company’s decision to issue an indefinite pause on its yearslong plans to deprecate third-party cookies on Chrome. Prior to that move, Google had postponed its cookie phaseout multiple times since 2020.
Chavez said that the decision to keep cookies in their current state was made in response to feedback from a variety of parties, including the U.K.’s antitrust regulator, the Competition and Markets Authority. The CMA has aired concerns about Google’s cookie deprecation plans, suggesting that the tech giant could leverage its market dominance to secure an unfair advantage in online advertising through Chrome and Privacy Sandbox, the framework through which Google has worked to develop cookieless methods for ad targeting and measurement.
Cookieless products will live on
Google will continue to develop a suite of privacy-focused tools via Privacy Sandbox despite its cookie U-turn, Chavez wrote. For example, Google will invest in APIs developed through Privacy Sandbox to help improve their efficacy. He said they will continue to improve as adoption rises.
The company also plans to roll out IP Protection into Chrome’s Incognito mode, Chavez wrote. This feature will be used to anonymize a user’s unique IP address to protect them from being identified by third parties that use IP addresses for cross-site tracking.
As it hones its approaches, Chavez wrote, Google will “continue to consult” with regulators across the globe and collaborate with players in the digital ecosystem.
Google has come under the gun for its market dominance in recent months. Rulings in two separate antitrust cases have determined that the company operates illegal monopolies in both adtech and online search.
The trial for the case involving Google Search kicked off on Monday. In that case, the U.S. Justice Department is seeking the forced divestiture of Chrome.
