Yesterday, Google made a surprising announcement. After four years of firmly stating that third-party cookies would be deprecated from Google Chrome, they have now reversed this decision.
Here are the key facts:
• Google Chrome will not proceed with the forced deprecation of third-party cookies.
• However, they will continue to develop the Sandbox APIs and shift towards a more privacy-centric browser, emphasising user choice in privacy decisions.
• Users will have the option to decide whether or not they wish to be tracked by third-party cookies through an “Opt In” or “Opt Out” choice at the browser level.
• Additional privacy measures are proposed, such as preventing IP addresses from being tracked while in “Incognito mode”.
This change in strategy seems to stem from several factors:
• The Google Sandbox has faced widespread criticism from the industry, including IAB Tech Labs, publishers, and advertisers, as not fit for purpose.
• The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has scrutinised Google’s proposed replacement for third-party cookies, making industry alignment and approval from the CMA challenging.
• Poor results from those testing the Sandbox have led to a significant decline in its overall adoption and testing.
What does this mean for Alliance members, and what should be your next steps?
• We still foresee the “death of the third-party cookie,” albeit in a more gradual manner. Eventually, third-party cookie traffic in Chrome is expected to diminish significantly.
• With Google adopting an Apple-like model where users decide whether to be tracked by third-party cookies, we anticipate a substantial reduction in third-party cookie tracking inventory, particularly if users must “Opt In” to be tracked.
• Alliance members should continue their current paths and collaborate with cookieless and privacy-centric partners, such as ID companies.
• Third-party cookie tracking remains unavailable in Safari and other browsers, presenting opportunities for revenue improvements.
• We predict a notable reduction in third-party cookie tracked users in Chrome, which will likely impact revenue adversely.
• Publishers are advised to enhance their first-party data offerings and direct demand sources to mitigate the anticipated decline in yield from these changes.
Overall, this announcement provides us with some additional time and helps prevent an immediate crash in publisher yields and revenues. However, we strongly advise publishers to continue their efforts to better monetise cookieless traffic.
The Independent Publishers Alliance team is available to answer any questions you may have. Our Slack group is also open for sharing thoughts and queries.
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