Google Chrome's Third Delay in Phase Out of Third-Party Cookies: What's the Holdup this Time?

Google has delayed the shutdown of third-party cookies for a third time after claiming that this year will be the year cookies will no longer be saved for trackers or advertisers to see.

As part of its commitment to privacy and security, Google pledged that Chrome's cookies would be phased out, similar to competitor browsers, but it does not seem fully onboard.

Third-party cookies are known to be used by advertisers to track users and their activities online, which can help them receive improved and personalized ads.

Google Chrome Third-Party Cookies Phase Out Faces Third Delay

A new post under Google's Privacy Sandbox Initiative announced another delay to its third-party cookies phase-out plan, which would have removed this in 2024.

This is already the third delay in the cookie shutdown, following a supposed 2022, 2023, and 2024 phase-out of these browser elements that would improve user privacy.

Moreover, Google cited the United Kingdom's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) probe into its services and third-party cookie shutdown.

"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."

Google

Will Google ever remove Chrome's cookies?

According to Google, Chrome's cookies are still under its views and decisions to phase out, but this moves the timeline further into 2025, as the move will not be completed in the entire second half of Q4 2024.

The massive delays pushed Google's cookie shutdown five years after industry rivals did it.

Google Chrome and Third-Party Cookies

Google and Chrome's plans to stop collecting cookies are with their Privacy Sandbox Initiative, launched in 2021, which could have been the time for the company to stop.

The initiative promised that 2022 would be the last time Google would collect said cookies, but the company went back on its word and said 2023 would be when it would take effect.

Towards the end of 2023, Google reiterated that the effect of this cookie phase-out ordeal would be within the year, but it was yet again delayed to the incoming year, which is 2024.

Several moves were made toward the cookie phase-outs, but they were not significant changes for users, as the company only affected one percent of the platform's users.

Google's cookie phase-out has been delayed for as many as five years, and it is already five years too late compared to its industry rivals, Apple and Mozilla, who are proceeding nicely.

Google now cites a new UK regulation as the basis for this latest delay, which centers on Google's competition instead of user privacy over unfair ad advantages.