Google changes their mind, won’t remove third-party cookies from Chrome
Back in 2020, Google announced a major change that would be coming to its Chrome browser. The company announced that they would eventually deprecate third-party cookies in Chrome. It looks like Google has changed their mind as the company has walked back on those plans.
In a recent blog post, Google says that they have adopted a new strategy which will apparently help users “make an informed choice that applies across their web browsing.” This comes after Google received feedback from various groups such as publishers, web developers, advertising agencies, and more.
It is unclear how this new approach will work as Google hasn’t detailed their plans yet, so we’ll have to wait and see. This new plan is pending approval by regulators in the UK and EU, so it could be a while before we see it implemented.
Cookies, for those unfamiliar, are an essential part of web browsing and are used in browsers like Chrome. It helps websites remember information about a particular user. Think of it like how certain websites can remember certain selections you made previously even though you closed the page. Or how some websites keep you logged in for weeks on end.
There is no doubt that cookies are useful, but in recent years, they have been abused. Many websites and developers use cookies to track your activity across multiple websites. This is largely used for marketing and advertising purposes, where your web activity can help determine which are the best ads to show to you.
This has led to privacy concerns as many are uncomfortable with such widespread tracking. It has also resulted in the rise of more privacy-focused browsers like Firefox and Brave.