Not yet. Google has yet again postponed its third-party cookies phaseout scheduled for 2022. Initially, this phase-out was scheduled to take place in February this year, but it now looks like marketers will have two more years to prepare for this change.

Google first announced this phase out in 2020 to offer its users more privacy, transparency, choice, and control online. But Google Chrome is not the first search engine to block third-party cookies; other search engines like firefox and Safari have already done it. 

Google says that it will phase out the cookies gradually over two years in consideration of the online advertising business. Google believes that completely blocking the cookies at once will result in techniques such as fingerprinting, negatively impact the web ecosystem and eventually reduce user privacy and control.

Third-party cookies and Google’s plan with them

Third-party cookies are formed when you visit a web domain, and other domains can access them. Marketers love cookies because it’s easy to know who has visited their websites, improve their user experience and get their target ads. Google will phase out the third-party cookies. 

Since 2019, the tech giant has been working on an alternative way to track web users. The phase-out was supposed to end in 2021. In mid-2021, Google claimed it needed more time to give digital advertising companies time to plan. However, those plans have been pushed further to the second half of 2024. 

What next after Third-Party Cookies?

When Google committed to ending third-party cookies, it came up with Privacy Sandbox and Topics API later in January 2022. The Privacy Sandbox would use web browser’s APIs without compromising online privacy. That would also benefit the advertisers since they would still advertise to their prospects. 

Federated Learning of Cohorts, FLoC

Google developed Federated Learning of Cohorts, abbreviated as FLoC to achieve the desired privacy. FLoC would assess the activity of web users and create a private online ID that advertisers will consider when targeting ads. The Electronic Frontier Foundation, however, views it as a technology for behavioral credit scoring. 

Trials have begun this month for the use of the Privacy Sandbox and are anticipated to continue for millions of Chrome users worldwide. Though Google is terminating the third-party cookies in 2024, the Privacy Sandbox APIs may come as early as the third quarter of 2023. 

Why Google has postponed the Third-Party Cookies phase-out 

The Privacy Sandbox has many options for Google to choose from. Nevertheless, they seem to have settled on FLoC. Available APIs for consideration include:

• Trust token API
• Aggregated reporting API
• Conversion measurement API
• Retargeting

Anthony Chavez, the Vice President of Google’s Privacy Sandbox, stated that the company needs more time to test the technology, highly relying on the feedback they get from advertisers and publishers. He also said they are considering design proposals since publishers, developers, advertisers, and regulators have offered their inputs. 

Google holds that it’s open to feedback as it will ensure that it develops a method that attracts the same emotions across all sectors. While users and publishers may be happy with some approaches, advertisers may feel they are limited to some extent.

Is it all Clear for Google’s Privacy Sandbox?

For web users, it might be good news that Google will finally keep their online profile safe. But, Google is under investigation to establish whether its move is anti-competitive. UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is interested to know how the Privacy Sandbox will affect publishers and users. 

To calm this concern, Google and CMA must agree on how best to develop and release the Privacy Sandbox. Google would thus update and consult CMA on the developments about the Privacy Sandbox. They also decided that they would not only consider FLoC but also give attention to other approaches that are more secure.

Another concern by US and Puerto Rico attorneys has been that the Privacy Sandbox would need Google to be brokers whenever advertisers need to promote their businesses.

The company will consider Topics that check three weeks of browsing history to know about their interests.

Wrapping it Up

Phasing out third-party cookies is Google’s way of showing its customers that it is concerned about their online privacy. Though the move needs to be quick, it also requires thorough consideration to ensure that all stakeholders are happy. 

With its recent announcement, Google appears not to have a well-laid strategy on how its chosen method will work. Buying more time by pushing the date for the complete phase-out of the third-party cookies offers the company time to understand how the web users, publishers, and advertisers receive it. The tech giant must ensure that it will work seamlessly after adopting the Private Sandbox. 

Now, Chrome users have to wait a little longer to see whether Google will finally keep its word in 2024.