Google’s decision to pull back on the plan to deprecate third party cookies from Chrome marks another shift in Google’s privacy strategy and gets mixed reactions from advertisers.
The announcement included “Instead of deprecating third-party cookies, we would introduce a new experience in Chrome that lets people make an informed choice that applies across their web browsing, and they’d be able to adjust that choice at any time,” wrote Anthony Chavez, VP of Privacy Sandbox. “We’re discussing this new path with regulators and will engage with the industry as we roll this out.”
This is only a temporary delay in the eventual decline of targeting using 3rd-party cookies. It’s important to note Google announced they would introduce a consumer choice. What is not understood yet is whether it’s opt-in or opt-out interaction. If it goes the way of Apple and their app tracking transparency call-to-action, we’ll see significant decline in users opting-in to third-party cookies.
The continued push to privacy-centric, non-cookie targeting is the right path forward. Advertisers with a focus first-party data strategy and partnerships will be in strong position to flourish in a post-cookie world.