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Google has decided to keep third-party cookies in its internet browser after years of pledging to scrap them.
In an announcement on its blog, the internet company said it would not be 'deprecating third-party cookies' anymore.
Instead, Google promised to introduce a new feature of its internet browser that "lets people make an informed choice that applies across their web browsing".
There is currently no clear timeline for when these changes will take place.
Everyone has visited a website with a banner asking if you'll accept cookies, but what does it all mean?
What are cookies?
In the context of the internet, cookies are small text files saved in your internet browser (other examples besides Chrome include Firefox and Safari) or device when you go to a website.
They are used to identify your browser and/or device and track certain aspects of your online behaviour.
The idea is they help a website gather information about you to make the website more useful for you — and that often includes displaying ads that are targeted to you.
Personal data a cookie might contain could be:
- Website name
- Browsing habits and history
- Personal preferences and history
- Your IP address
- Phone number and address
- Links clicked
- Shopping cart items
There are several different types of Internet Cookies, but the one Google was looking to scrap was third-party cookies.
What do third-party cookies do?
Third-party cookies are mostly used for tracking a user's activity across websites and using that information for personalised advertising from third parties.
Google uses third-party cookies for advertising, including serving and rendering ads and personalising them.
Depending on your settings, other services linked to Google like YouTube may also use these cookies for advertising.
This means things like more relevant results and recommendations, a customised YouTube home page and advertisements tailored to your interests will appear while browsing.
International websites ask you to "accept cookies" due to a data privacy protection law that was enacted in 2018.
The European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) requires all multinational companies to provide an opt-in where non-compliance can result in fines.
Australia does not require consent for cookies.
Why was Google going to scrap third-party cookies?
Because of growing public criticism over privacy concerns.
Google responded by promising to "chart a course towards a more privacy-first web".
The initial plan was unveiled in 2020 and was set to phase third-party cookies out by the end of 2022.
In a blog post in 2021, Google's director of product management, ads privacy and trust said the decision was due to users becoming distrustful:
"As our industry has strived to deliver relevant ads to consumers across the web, it has created a proliferation of individual user data across thousands of companies, typically gathered through third-party cookies," he said.
It began to work on an initiative it called the Privacy Sandbox, which promised to build innovations to protect users' privacy while still "delivering results for advertisers and publishers".
At the time, Google said it would phase out third-party cookies by 2023
But it pushed the deadline back three times.
The latest delay pushed the deadline to 2025 before finally abandoning that plan this week.
Is it safe to accept third-party cookies?
That depends on the website.
When making a decision about whether to accept third-party cookies, Internet security company Norton says to think about who accesses the data and what they might do with it.
It warns that, if you accept third-party cookies on a website, it can sell your data to third parties and you don't get to choose or know who has it.
It advises against accepting cookies on unencrypted websites or if it the site has been flagged as suspicious by your antivirus software.
However, some website owners may not allow you to use their site if you don't accept cookies.