Why Google Says ‘Cookies Are Staying’ Despite Widespread Opposition

Google has made a dramatic U-turn on its plan to phase out third-party cookies in its Chrome browser. The tech gfiant has announced it will indefinitely maintain support for these data trackers, reversing its previous decision to deprecate them by the end of 2024.

While Google will give Chrome users the choice to opt out of cookies, this abrupt change of direction marks a significant departure from the industry-wide push towards a cookie-less future initiated by major tech players like Apple, Microsoft, and Google themselves in past years.

Apple and Mozilla have already implemented strict cookie restrictions, while other browser companies have also taken steps to phase them out.

Experts speak to Techopedia about the new policy, whether Google’s approach is right or wrong, and how we should tackle browser privacy in the years to come.

Table of Contents Table of Contents

1. Key Takeaways
2. Google's Privacy Sandbox Claims Cookies and Privacy Can Coexist
3. Google Can't Afford a Cookieless Future — 75% of its Revenue Comes from Ads
4. More Than Half of All Users Prefer Privacy Focused Browsers
5. Steps Users Can Take Today to Protect Data
6. The Bottom Line
7. References

Show Full Guide

Table of Contents

1. Key Takeaways
2. Google's Privacy Sandbox Claims Cookies and Privacy Can Coexist
3. Google Can't Afford a Cookieless Future — 75% of its Revenue Comes from Ads
Show Full Guide
4. More Than Half of All Users Prefer Privacy Focused Browsers
5. Steps Users Can Take Today to Protect Data
6. The Bottom Line
7. References

Google’s Privacy Sandbox Claims Cookies and Privacy Can Coexist

Despite continually promoting and announcing updates for a cookieless future since 2020, Google changed its cookie future plans by pushing Privacy Sandbox.

The Privacy Sandbox is Google’s new plan for privacy and cookies on Chrome. Through this platform, the tech giant announced that it will no longer phase out third-party cookies.

Privacy Sandbox claims that all users will be able to have a cookieless browser experience while marketers, advertisers, and data brokers will also have what they want. How is this even possible?

Privacy Sandbox claims that users will be able to select the level of privacy on Chrome—a narrative of ‘giving users more control over their data’, which is nothing new but a concept proven to have a wide range of challenges.

As Privacy Sandbox’s VP Anthony Chavez said:

“We are proposing an updated approach that elevates user choice. 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.”

But it might not be that simple.

Hanan Blumstein, co-founder and Chief Business Officer at Glassbox, a digital experience analytics platform that helps organizations improve their customer’s digital journey, spoke to Techopedia about how the issue affects users’ privacy.

Blumstein explained that with 74% of companies increasing their investments in personalization efforts over the past year, the continuation of third-party cookies means customer data will continue to be collected and leveraged for targeted advertising.

“This usually happens without consumers fully understanding the associated risks. Therefore, companies must prioritize transparency, clearly communicating how they use data to maintain customer trust.

“Google’s decision to retain third-party cookies has significant implications for user privacy.”

Despite the outdated nature of cookie-based strategies, 45% of digital professionals still allocate half their budgets to marketing strategies that rely on cookies, as Adobe reports.

“The impact on data brokers and the advertising industry will be significant,” Blumstein said.

“The true potential lies in achieving hyper-personalization without cookies, especially with the emergence of AI.”

Google Can’t Afford a Cookieless Future — 75% of its Revenue Comes from Ads

Alphabet’s first quarter report for 2024 reveals that Google’s model of business has not changed. The company’s biggest source of income continues to be ad revenue. Total revenues for the quarter were set at $80.5 billion — 15% up year-on-year, while its advertising revenue totaled $61.66 billion, about 75%.

Cookies in Chrome are fundamental to the company’s current business model, and Google knows exactly how many are needed.

In a test, the company removed cookies from about 1% of Chrome users (approximately 30 million users). Google immediately found that websites that rely on cookies to show targeted ads saw a significant drop in revenue, earning nearly 30% less money from ads.

Justin Daniels, Faculty at IANS Research, spoke to Techopedia about the Google business model.

“Continuing to track users with third-party cookies allows advertisers to build detailed profiles based on browsing habits, which can lead to targeted ads but also raises significant privacy concerns.

“Is this surprising given how dependent this model is on targeted advertising?”

Daniels explained that Google should not be the only one who decides about user privacy and said there is a “critical need for a federal privacy and security law.”

“As you look at the regulatory landscape, the States are taking the lead in passing regulations relating to privacy as well as artificial intelligence.

“The reality is that this issue needs to be addressed as part of a comprehensive privacy and security bill at the federal level. Congress has completely failed to put guardrails around the 21st-century digital economy. Instead, they left it to tech companies who will always value market share and profits over privacy and security.”

More Than Half of All Users Prefer Privacy Focused Browsers

Dio Favatas, Head of Identity Solutions?and Marketing Clouds at?Tredence, a data science company,?told Techopedia that marketers must adapt quickly as privacy-centric browsers dominate the market.

“While marketers have been waiting to determine their post-cookie future based on what Google does in Chrome, they have completely forgotten that they are missing half the data.”

Favatas explained that Chrome has a ceiling in user adoption, and more people are favoring privacy-centric browsers. Chrome Mobile has 44% of the U.S. market share, while Chrome Web has 52%.

“Since Apple introduced ITP [Intelligent Tracking Prevention] in 2017, North American marketers have been blind to 32% – 49% of their marketing efforts because those cookies have been blocked,” Fatavas said.

In the U.S., Apple’s Safari browser dominates mobile phones with 49% market penetration, while the web version has 32% market share, followed by Mozilla’s Firefox with 4.21%. Firefox blocks third-party trackers like Safari does.

“Now that Google has announced they will not deprecate cookies but will introduce a new Chrome experience allowing users to disable third-party tracking, combined with the Privacy Sandbox rolling out next year, there will essentially be no cookies left to act on,” Fatavas said.

“Marketers need to adapt quickly.”

Steps Users Can Take Today to Protect Data

Brian Callahan, Web Science Program and Director of the Rensselaer Cybersecurity Collaboratory at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, spoke to Techopedia about how users can protect their privacy today.

“This move by Google maintains the status quo. While Google says they will introduce new tooling to help users, there are many potential pitfalls depending on how Google implements those tools.”

Callahan said that he would like to see something similar to Firefox and Safari, which disable third-party cookies.

“Until then, users should do their best to disable or turn off cookies where possible,” Callahan said.

“While it is tedious, when you see cookie banners, refuse all cookies.

“Finally, the best way to protect your data is to not give it out in the first place.

“Data that you have not given is data that cannot be stolen or otherwise used against you.”

Callahan added that browsers also have mechanisms to delete cookies, which can be enabled to act on a routine basis. Finally, social engineering and malware constitute a large number of cookie-stealing attacks, so being careful online can help prevent cookie theft and a whole lot of other security issues.

“If you are able to reject cookies, then those cookies cannot be stolen because they don’t exist.”

The Bottom Line

Google’s decision to maintain third-party cookies in Chrome is a significant setback for privacy advocates and a boon for the advertising industry. While the company claims to prioritize user choice, its business model is heavily reliant on cookie-based advertising revenue.

As privacy concerns grow and alternative browsers gain traction, Google faces a critical challenge in retaining user trust while balancing its financial interests. Ultimately, the future of online advertising and user privacy hinges on the development of effective, privacy-preserving alternatives to cookies.