Google delays third-party cookie ban in Chrome yet again

Google is once again delaying its plan to block third-party cookies in Chrome.

The search giant has had a plan to phase out third-party cookies, which have become a privacy concern over their role in tracking people online, for years. Part of this plan is the addition of Google’s ‘Privacy Sandbox,’ an effort by the company to make a tool to help companies track users without invading their privacy.

Google was set to phase out third-party cookies in late 2024 and had even started the process with a small number of Chrome users in January. However, Google is now pushing the change until early 2025 to give regulators like the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) time to review the change.

In a blog post about the delay, Google wrote:

“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. It’s also critical that the CMA 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.”

However, even the 2025 goal is up in the air, depending on whether all involved parties can reach an agreement.

While it might take more time for Google to make the change, Chrome users can still get a jump on it if they want. Chrome includes a toggle to block third-party cookies, though it isn’t turned on by default. That said, it might break some websites (if that does happen, Chrome users can enable third-party cookies on a per-site basis).

Notably, many other web browsers, including Firefox, Safari, and Chromium-based browsers like Brave, have blocked third-party cookies by default. Chrome, however, is a more significant project, given how large its user base is.

Cookies are small files that websites use to store information in your browser and have various important uses, such as remembering whether you’re logged in or keeping track of what you put in your cart. Cookies come from the sites you visit, but third-party cookies come from other sites and are often used to track what people do across various websites.

For example, if a site has a Facebook button, you’ll probably get a Facebook cookie, and that could let Facebook track what you do on that website even though it isn’t Facebook.

Source: Google Via: Android Authority