Cookies to Stay on the Shelf a Bit Longer

Stop us if you have heard this one before, Google has once again announced the delay of their plan to phase out third-party cookies.

Third-party cookies in Google’s market-leading Chrome browser will now remain until the second-half of 2024.Google said the postponement is rooted in a need to further test its forthcoming Privacy Sandbox tool with stakeholders such as ad tech companies and advertisers.In the short term, it allows for more refinement and testing the new targeting before cookies go obsolete.However, in the long term, it doesn't affect the larger mission of developing a digital advertising targeting solution that satisfies all parties and is consumer centered.

Despite yet another delay to depreciating cookies, it is inevitable that the advertising industry will have to wean itself off its reliance on the technology. Consumers and regulators alike have emphasized the importance of privacy, whether it comes to embracing Google Topics, using contextual targeting more often, or searching for an as-yet-elusive fix that will replace cookies while allowing more online anonymity.

Google kicking the cookie jar down the road isn’t a free pass to continue to rely on the status quo. What it does do, however, is give the industry some extra time to get it right — before cookies truly get cut for good.