The third-party cookies are no longer crumbling...

A change of plans for Google

After repeated delays, Google has officially abandoned plans to phase out third-party cookies.

Instead, they'll introduce a system allowing users to make a one-time cookie preference choice across all websites. While this might seem sudden, it's no surprise given the frequent delays and industry pushback, with the latest setback announced as recently as April when the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) asked Google not to pursue its original plan, citing that replacing a standard technology like the third-party cookie in a browser with a 64% global market share is bound to have wide-ranging impacts on a large number of users. Google themselves recognised the impact the previously planned change would have on the marketing industry in their announcement.

What are third-party cookies?

Third-party cookies have been the backbone of digital marketing for decades, originating in the mid-90s and seeing increasing mass adoption across digital marketing activities since their launch. They allow advertisers to track user behaviour across different websites and support the delivery of highly targeted adverts, primarily across paid media channels.

The technology made it possible to target specific audiences and web users with adverts based on products or services they had shown interest in during their online browsing experience, and powered a significant shift in remarketing capability across the digital advertising landscape.

However, with the rising demand from users for increased privacy protection online, the last three decades have seen a battle (with multiple trade-offs) between the desire for users to have greater control and privacy around their online data and the advertising platforms’ desire to offer advertisers the most accurate and sophisticated targeting capability to further encourage and justify advertising spend and growth in particular paid media activity.

So, what are the adjustments?

With more general understanding around concepts such as data privacy and online consent coming increasingly to the fore, balancing user requirements and delivering best-in-class solutions to advertisers to remain competitive has been a real challenge for large ad-tech stakeholders like Google.

Firefox made the decision in 2019 to restrict the use of third-party cookies, launching their Enhanced Tracking Protection (ETP) programme. Apple’s Safari followed in 2020 with its Intelligent Tracking Prevention (ITP) feature. These programmes did not fully disable third-party cookies but made it much more difficult to show individual users targeted ads purely based on their browsing history, while introducing more ‘privacy-enhancing’ features for their users.

Google, however, did not want Chrome to follow the same path, primarily because Google is not just a web browser but also a major ad-tech stakeholder, generating much of its revenue through its ability to sell advertising solutions, such as Google Ads and Google Display Network, to advertisers and brands.

In January 2020, Google announced an initiative to phase out third-party cookies in Chrome by 2022, but this initiative has seen multiple timeline adjustments and changes in approach.

As recently as January 2024, Google released a new timeline claiming it would disable third-party cookies for 1% of Chrome users (impacting around 30 million users worldwide) and look to increase this number, building up to a full phase-out by Q3 2024. However, on Monday (22nd July 2024), Anthony Chavez, VP of Google’s Privacy Sandbox, announced a significant pivot in the plans for third-party cookie deprecation, proposing one informed choice by the user which is carried across all sites on the browser instead of eliminating third-party cookies altogether.

What does this change mean for businesses?

This change of plan from Google will not bring back the days of precise tracking and high visibility for all users, as policies such as GDPR have ensured that users have more control over their online data and how it is used by organisations who collect online data.

The ability for users to block cookies across all sites with a single click will still likely reduce some targeting capabilities. Therefore, much of the same advice that we have been giving to our clients as best practice guidance throughout this proposed ‘move to a cookieless future’ over the last four years still applies:

• Prioritise your first-party data. The data which your organisation directly collects and stores on your customers has never been more crucial – it allows you to develop a stronger relationship with your customer through a greater understanding of context and individual behaviours at a level third-party cookies never could.

• Invest in your CRM systems. These are your treasure troves of data. Use it to your advantage through CRM integrations and custom match lists.

• Conduct an audit of your data sources. Ensure these are compliant and secure and determine which areas of your marketing activities are reliant on third-party cookies.

• Understand your audience. While third-party cookies have been a cornerstone of targeting, we can still effectively reach our audience using demographic, location, and search-based data. Use your first-party data to build a picture of your target customer and guide your marketing activity.

For more detailed guidance on best practice approaches read our blog ‘A Cookieless Future: Preparing for the End of Third-Party Cookies.'

Future changes?

We know that Google has a tendency to change its mind on this topic, so the question now is ‘will this plan stick?’

At this stage, it is not completely confirmed.

Google is still ‘finalising this approach’ and needs to consult with regulators globally. One of these regulators, the ICO, has already released a statement discussing disappointment with this change of plans, so watch this space.

The one thing we do know, despite this reversal from Google being seen largely as a positive change for advertisers, is that the importance of first-party data is still as crucial as ever. This allows advertisers to build a stronger and more transparent relationship with their audience.