Google has recently announced that it has, once again, delayed its plans to phase out third-party cookies in Chrome.
The initiative to remove third party cookies was first introduced in 2019 and has been delayed multiple times since then, so it comes as no surprise that the search giant announced another delay in a recent update. It’s currently looking like the phase out will now happen in early 2025.
So what does it all mean? Let’s get into it…
What is the third-party cookie depreciation?
Back in 2019 Google launched an initiative called Google’s Privacy Sandbox, which aims to improve privacy across the web, while still allowing businesses to gather relevant data for advertising purposes. Third-party cookies have historically been implemented by advertisers and website owners, meaning they can track users without clear consent and therefore create profiling that is invasive. Not only that, this type of cross-site tracking can be exploited by cyber criminals to steal data or spread harmful malware.
Quite rightly, this activity sparked concerns with regulatory bodies as well as consumers so Google announced this programme as a way of phasing them out. The original aim was to have the cookies phased out on Chrome by 2020, which has been pushed back and back and now pushed back again to 2025.
Why has it been delayed?
Well, that’s a good question and one a lot of people are asking, after so many delays.
The short answer is; it’s getting complicated! There are multiple different stakeholders involved and it’s taking longer than expected to get all parties on the same page.
In the most recent update from Google, which can be read here, the reasons are twofold.
Firstly, there are some challenges collating feedback from the industry regulators and developers and it needs to work closely with all related parties to get it right and roll out the initiative and seemingly need more time to do so.
“We recognize that there are ongoing challenges related to reconciling divergent feedback from the industry, regulators and developers, and will continue to engage closely with the entire ecosystem”
Secondly, Google is working closely with the UK’s Competition and Market Authority (CMA) and they have requested more time to review results for industry tests from participants who have a deadline for the end of June. With that deadline in place, it’s clear they need more time after June to review and analyse the results.
“It’s also critical that the (UK’s Competition and Markets Authority) has sufficient time to review all evidence including results from industry tests, which the CMA has asked market participants to provide by the end of June. Given both of these significant considerations, we will not complete third-party cookie deprecation during the second half of Q4.”
What does it mean?
It means that the third-party cookies will continue to be live across Chrome until early next year, at the earliest. But it’s safe to say, no one is holding their breath for 2025. Google is working hard to involve and satisfy all stakeholders involved and hopefully this will be done in the new timeline outlined.
How will it affect your business?
The initial concerns for many businesses and advertisers who are using these cookies is the loss of data to use in marketing activity. It means that teams will now have to adjust their data collecting strategies that involve consenting data collection and use more first party data to inform their activity moving forward. Capterra recently carried out research of UK business and it revealed that 61% of businesses are extremely concerned about how the removal of third-party cookies will affect their business. So it’s clear that it’s being taken seriously by businesses across the country and beyond and action needs to be taken.
Do you need to do anything now?
Get your business prepared for the cookieless future – it’s that simple. The sooner your business can devise and implement a new strategy to gather data rather than relying on third-party cookies the better. Getting the new process in place now will allow you and your team more time to establish the new strategy and ensure it provides you with everything you need before the third-party cookies are phased out in 2025.
So how do you go about preparing your business for a cookieless future? Well, that’s a big one, and something our Found SEO experts discuss and provide practical advice on in this article (insert link article).
If you want to know more about how your business can prepare for these changes and get some industry-leading advice from a friendly bunch of SEO and digital experts then get in touch with (Include individuals contact info if possible.) or you can get in touch with us online here.
