May 09, 2025 | 2 minute read Google recently announced it will shift gears on the plan to move away from third-party cookies toward an opt-out mechanism it had hoped to launch. It appears third-party cookies are here to stay.
The history of this proposed change dates back to January of 2020, when Google announced the Privacy Sandbox initiative. At that time, the intent was to provide a privacy-forward approach that was touted as being superior to the use of third-party cookies. The original announcement came with the expectation that cookies would be deprecated sometime in 2022 in favor of an opt-out mechanism allowing users to choose not to be tracked.
Since that time, repeated delays and extensions have pushed back the rollout date. To its credit, Google acknowledged that this change would affect advertisers and that a radical change in digital advertising would be needed. The complexity of this shift weighed heavily on the digital marketing industry and Google as time went on. All this, and concerns by regulators, have led to the recent announcement that the move to remove third-party cookies has been tabled.
Cookies and Consumer Privacy
Third-party cookies are vital to advanced targeting and retargeting campaigns. However, as consumers become more knowledgeable and increasingly aware of data-privacy concerns, they have been demanding more control over their personal data and search history.
The announcement of Google’s collaboration with The Privacy Sandbox caused concern among digital advertisers as they contemplated a future without the ability to accurately target and measure the effectiveness of their campaigns.
Across the globe, regulators questioned what this change would mean for consumers. Fears emerged that through this new opt-out mechanism, Google could expand its market dominance in online advertising and measurement, leading to discussions between regulators, in the US and abroad, and the tech giant.
What Happens Now
Anthony Chavez of The Privacy Sandbox explains, “…We’ve made the decision to maintain our current approach to offering users third-party cookie choice in Chrome, and will not be rolling out a new standalone prompt for third-party cookies.” Consumers will continue to have the ability to determine their own privacy and security settings within Chrome.
Google’s partnership with The Privacy Sandbox will continue. Future plans will focus on other privacy tools, including IP Protection for Chrome’s Incognito mode, Safe Browsing, Safety Check, built-in password protections, and other privacy-forward enhancements.
