Google Won't Block Tracking Cookies After All

Google has ditched plans to block third-party cookies in the Chrome browser. It says it will instead let users "make an informed choice" - a change that's upset privacy campaigners.

A cookie is a text file placed by a website on a user's computer. The site can then retrieve information from the file the next time the user visits, for example to log them into an account or to provide a personalized website experience such as a localized weather forecast.

Many cookies are "first party," meaning they only collect and store data about a user's activity on the site which issued the cookies. However, "third party" cookies collect data about a user's activity on other sites. Most commonly this allows targeted advertising: a website can show ads based on the user's visits to pages on other sites.

Sandbox Solution

Google had planned to block third party cookies completely in Chrome. It wanted to replace it with a "Privacy Sandbox" system which would share some user information with advertisers, but allow users greater control over what was shared.

The proposals received a mixed response. While some campaigners and data regulators welcomed them as a boost for privacy, advertisers and rival companies claimed the move was anticompetitive. They argued that Privacy Sandbox would force more advertisers to use Google's services. (Source: bbc.co.uk)

Google now says it will still launch Privacy Sandbox but won't block third-party cookies. It says instead it wants to "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." (Source: privacysandbox.com)

Pop-Up Problems

It hasn't yet issued details of how this will work in practice. One reading of Google's wording is that users will be asked once to enable or block third-party cookies for all sites, something that will be easier but could be a problem if users misread the initial request or click an option by mistake.

The alternative would be to ask every time a new site wants to issue a third-party cookie. That could run into the same problems as Europe's GDPR laws where greater user choice about cookies winds up as an annoyance in practice for many users, who simply click whatever option makes pop-up windows disappear the quickest.

What's Your Opinion?

Has Google made a smart choice? Would you prefer a complete block on third-party cookies? Would you rather make a single choice that affects all sites or work on a site-by-site basis?