Tech giant, Google has announced that it will adopt a privacy sandbox strategy in place of the previously announced phase-out of third-party cookies.
This was disclosed via a blog post, by the Vice President of the Google-backed Privacy Sandbox initiative, Anthony Chavez.
Google’s reversal comes in response to worries expressed by marketers, who claim that the removal of cookies from the most widely used browser in the world will restrict their capacity to gather data for customized advertisements, leaving them reliant on Google’s user databases.
Cookies are little data files that a website transfers to the user’s browser; they are frequently used to track user behavior when they browse online in order to serve advertisements. Removing the third-party cookies was expected to give Chrome browser users data privacy.
Google, however, stated that it would now want to give consumers the privacy settings to use to make informed decisions about third-party cookies.
Chavez said “We are proposing an updated approach that elevates user choice. Instead of deprecating third-party cookies, we would introduce a new experience in Chrome that lets people make an informed choice that applies across their web browsing, and they’d be able to adjust that choice at any time.
“We’re discussing this new path with regulators, and will engage with the industry as we roll this out.”
“We’ll continue to make the Privacy Sandbox APIs available and invest in them to further improve privacy and utility. We also intend to offer additional privacy controls, so we plan to introduce IP Protection into Chrome’s Incognito mode,” he added.
According to Chavez, Google created the Privacy Sandbox in an effort to find creative ways to maintain an ad-supported internet that connects consumers and businesses, fosters a thriving publisher ecosystem, and provides free access to a vast array of content for all users.
He said that during the sandbox’s construction, Google had gotten input from a wide range of parties, including publishers, web developers and standards organizations, civil society, regulators such as the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), and members of the advertising industry.
“This feedback has helped us craft solutions that aim to support a competitive and thriving marketplace that works for publishers and advertisers, and encourage the adoption of privacy-enhancing technologies,” he said.
The cancellation of the cookies phaseout brings to a halt, the back and forth that has led to Google shifting its deadline three times over anti-competitiveness concerns
