Starting January of this year, Google Chrome initiated a phased removal of third-party cookies (3PCD), initially affecting 1% of its users, with plans to extend this to all users by mid-2024.

The transition from third-party cookies to Google’s Privacy Sandbox heralds a major shift for the digital advertising industry individual internet users, and businesses.

This move challenges the status quo of online advertising companies, requiring them to innovate and adapt to a new, privacy-first approach.

Individuals internet users gain more control over their online privacy, marking a significant step towards a more secure and user-centric web experience.

For large corporations, this means they will need to invest in new technologies and methods compliant with privacy standards, potentially leading to an increased focus on first-party data collection and the development of alternative targeting solutions.

For small businesses, this means navigating a potentially steep learning curve and adapting their digital marketing strategies without relying on the detailed customer insights previously gleaned from third-party cookies.

However, it also presents an opportunity to build trust through transparent privacy practices and to explore new, privacy-compliant methods of reaching customers.

So why remove third party cookies anyway?

Google is phasing out third-party cookies to address the growing privacy concerns that have been cropping up over the last half dozen years, or so and to enhance the internet users experience.

By eliminating these trackers, which collect data on user web activity for targeted advertising, Google aims to foster a more privacy-centric web environment.

This change reflects a shift towards prioritising user privacy over personalised advertising practices, ensuring users have greater control over their online data.

What this means for you.

As we already talked about, it means, as individuals we will be gaining more control over our online privacy.

For everyone else though, we are losing a tool in our marketing and advertising belt which has served us for many solid years.

Love it or hate it, the digital landscape is forever changing as we get more sophisticated and things mature. It’s just the name of the game.

What are the solutions?

To address the removal of third-party cookies, several solutions are being explored:

1. First-Party Data Collection: Businesses focus on collecting data directly from their users through interactions on their own websites and apps, hence the change over to Google Analytics 4 from Universal Analytics.
2. Privacy Sandbox: Google’s initiative, including new technologies like FLoC (Federated Learning of Cohorts), offers privacy-preserving alternatives for personalized advertising without individual tracking.
3. Contextual Advertising: Advertisers rely more on the context of the webpage to serve relevant ads, rather than on user’s past browsing history.
4. Consent-Based Advertising: Enhancing mechanisms for obtaining user consent for data collection and use, in line with privacy regulations like GDPR.
5. Unified ID Solutions: Developing new identity solutions that are privacy-compliant and do not rely on third-party cookies, such as hashed email addresses or device IDs, with user consent.

These solutions emphasise privacy, user consent, and direct relationships between businesses and their customers, aiming to create a more secure and trustworthy digital environment.