Google hits pause on the deprecation of third-party cookies (again)

It’s happening: Google is officially ditching its plans to phase out third-party cookies in Chrome. 

The topic has been subject to a lot of back-and-forth, with the deadline being pushed further away and eventually culminating in where we find ourselves today: it’s not happening – or at least not in its original guise.

What’s happening? 

Instead of deprecating third-party cookies as a default setting, Google’s new plan is to encourage users to ‘make an informed choice that applies across their web browsing’. How this looks in terms of the exact user experience is anyone’s guess, however, the assumption is that it’ll be a one-time prompt which will then be applied across the Google Ad ecosystem.  

This news is particularly significant as users’ decisions will ultimately shape the impact of this roll-out. The consensus is that people don’t like being followed around the web and, if you give them an option, it’s marginally easier to opt out than in. So, whilst offering this choice to billions of Chrome users isn’t going to be quite as dramatic as a default block would have been, we’re still looking at a massive reduction in targetable users via third-party cookies. Take, for example, what happened when Apple introduced a choice to app users through iOS 14.5 and their App Tracking Transparency rollout.

Monthly opt-in rate of mobile users worldwide allowing app tracking after iOS 14.5 update as of April 2022

So the predicted impact of this rollout remains the same as before; third-party cookie targeting will be surpassed (perhaps a bit slower than before) by alternative and more future-facing methods of digital ad targeting and delivery.  

But why the change of direction?

1. Regulatory pressure: the scrutiny Google was facing from regulators, specifically the CMA in the UK, wasn’t going away. They’re tasked with ensuring fair competition and had seemingly decided that this move from Google needed close attention. Privacy Sandbox might be the solution in Google’s eyes (alongside first-party data strategies and the continued investment into AI by advertisers), but there’s still a lot of work to do to satisfy the CMA before cookie deprecation on a default basis takes place.

2. Industry pushback: there’ve been incredible levels of investment into alternative targeting solutions, and from all corners of the industry, however none of these options aligned as neatly as third-party cookie targeting once did. And there’s no united front behind one of the alternatives; in terms of Google itself, Privacy Sandbox has been the subject of mounting industry concerns, receiving a lot of scrutiny on its performance. Whilst Google have been listening to these concerns and responded quickly with a respond, there’s still work to do.

3. Time and technology: it turns out that trying to replace something that’s been around forever (well, in a digital sense) is really, really hard. Updating hundreds of thousands of websites to enable Sandbox APIs involves a lot of moving parts and takes a long time. And there’s no point stopping something in its current guise when you aren’t sure what ‘comes next’.

What actions should businesses be taking

In short, it’s a case of ‘as you were’. Marketers don’t need to make huge adjustments to their existing strategy for cookie depreciation. A bit more time has been bought for advertisers to implement alternatives, but otherwise, the future remains as it was and there is still no like-for-like replacement for third-party cookie targeting. 

Whilst you could argue that this is now less of a prerogative, I don’t agree. As we row back from years of industry over-reliance on cookies for identifying and reaching audiences, it provides an opportunity to reflect on what truly is the best way to communicate with consumers. 

After all, the easiest and cheapest way is rarely the most effective.  

Get in touch with our strategy team 

If you’d like to know more on how Hallam can help your business navigate these ever-changing circumstances, get in touch.