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Google said on Monday it plans to keep third-party cookies in its Chrome browser after years of pledging to phase out the tiny bundles of code used to track internet users.
The dramatic reversal stems from concerns among advertisers, the company’s biggest source of revenue, who say the loss of cookies in the world’s most popular browser will limit their ability to gather information for personalized ads, leaving them dependent on Google’s database of users.
The UK Competition and Markets Authority has also reviewed Google’s plans, concerned that they would hinder competition in digital advertising.
“Rather than deprecating third-party cookies, we will introduce a new experience in Chrome that empowers people to make informed choices throughout their web browsing experience and adjust those choices over time,” Anthony Chavez, vice president of the Google-backed Privacy Sandbox initiative, said in a blog post.
Since 2019, the Alphabet unit has been working on the Privacy Sandbox initiative, which aims to support digital businesses while enhancing online privacy, with the main goal of phasing out third-party cookies.
Cookies are packets of information that allow websites and advertisers to identify individual web browsers and track their browsing habits, but they can also be used for unwanted surveillance.
In the European Union, the use of cookies is governed by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which requires publishers to obtain explicit consent from users to store their cookies. Major browsers also offer the option to delete cookies on command.
Chavez said Google was working with regulators such as the UK Data Governance Association and the Information Commissioner’s Office, as well as publishers and privacy groups on the new approach, while continuing to invest in the Privacy Sandbox program.
The statement drew mixed reactions.
“Advertising stakeholders will no longer need to prepare to completely wean themselves off third-party cookies,” eMarketer analyst Evelyn Mitchell-Wolf said in a statement.
Lena Cohen, a technologist at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, said cookies can cause harm to consumers, such as predatory advertising targeting vulnerable groups. “Google’s decision to continue allowing third-party cookies, despite other major browsers having blocked them for years, is a direct consequence of its advertising-driven business model,” Cohen said in a statement.
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