Google delays plan to kill third-party cookies on Chrome for two years

Google plans to replace cookies with machine learning algorithms and tokens - but critics argue that its plan will hurt the open web

Google says it is delaying plans to introduce its Privacy Sandbox initiative to phase out third-party cookies from the Chrome browser for about two years. The company says it needs more time to 'get things right'.

"While there's considerable progress with this initiative, it's become clear that more time is needed across the ecosystem to get this right," Vinay Goel, Privacy Engineering Director, Chrome, wrote in a blog post on Thursday.

Goel urged the web community needs to work together to develop a set of open standards to enhance users' privacy on the web - giving people greater control over how private firms can use their data.

"In order to do this, we need to move at a responsible pace. This will allow sufficient time for public discussion on the right solutions, continued engagement with regulators, and for publishers and the advertising industry to migrate their services," he noted.

Google believes it is important to protect the business models of web publishers that support freely available content, and to ensure that alternative forms of tracking technologies, like fingerprinting, don't simply replace cookies.

The phase-out of cookies will take place in two phases beginning in late 2022 and mid-2023, says Google.

"Once testing is complete and APIs are launched in Chrome, we will announce the start of stage 1," Goel said.

In Stage 1, expected to last for about nine months, advertising firms and publishers will have time to shift their services.

During Stage 2, Google plans to phase out Chrome's support for third-party cookies over a three month period. The firm expects to complete the second phase by late 2023.

Advertisers use third-party cookies to collect user information from browsers, and use the data to make advertising campaigns more effective. Critics have long raised concerns that cookies can be used to track users on the Internet.

Some browsers, like Firefox and Safari, have already introduced some measures to block third-party cookies.

Because Chrome is the world's most popular desktop browser, phasing out cookies is expected to substantially impact the ad industry.

Google's move to postpone Privacy Sandbox comes less than a fortnight after the company announced a set of proposals to end an antitrust investigation launched by the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) earlier this year.

Following Google's announcement, the CMA said it would oversee Google's planned ad tracking changes.

Google unveiled its Privacy Sandbox plan in August 2019, claiming that it would help make web surfing more private, while still enabling digital advertising firms to target web users.

As part of the new scheme, Google proposes storing and processing all user data in the web browser, and using machine learning algorithms to assess users' interests to target them with relevant ads.

Google says the data will be presented to advertisers in the form of a cryptographic token that will obfuscate identifying information. This will enable advertisers to confidently target their ads, without directly identifying individuals.

'The Privacy Sandbox initiative aims to create web technologies that both protect people's privacy online and give companies and developers the tools to build thriving digital businesses to keep the web open and accessible to everyone,' Google says.

However, some companies are not happy with the plan and have expressed concerns that the scheme will remove advertising, login, and many other features from the open web and place them under Google's control.

Concerns have also been raised about whether Google's proposals are in line with Europe's GDPR data protection regulation.