Google, a subsidiary of Alphabet, announced on Thursday that it will start testing a new feature in its Chrome browser to block third-party cookies used by advertisers to track users.
The search engine is planning to restrict cross-site tracking by default with a feature called Tracking Protection, which will be released to 1% of Chrome users worldwide on January 4th.
In the second part of 2024, Google intends to fully remove third-party cookies from users’ browsers.
Google acknowledged that the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has expressed antitrust concerns, and the deadline is contingent upon overcoming these issues.
In its pursuit of digital advertising competition and to keep tabs on Google’s most lucrative business unit, the CMA has been looking into the search engine giant’s intentions to deprecate some cookies in Chrome.
Internet advertisers and websites are able to identify users and their browsing behavior through the use of “cookies,” which are little files.
In June, EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager also stated that the agency will keep looking into Google’s “Privacy Sandbox” initiative, which includes tools to block third-party cookies.
The most widely used web browser in the world is reportedly planning to remove cookies, which will force advertisers to rely more on Google’s user datasets for ad personalization.
Financial services According to a Thursday report from BofA Global Research, media agencies will gain more authority as a result of the cookie phaseout, particularly those that can provide advertisers with unique information on a large scale.
(Harshita Mary Varghese reported from Bengaluru; Jaspreet Singh and Chavi Mehta contributed additional reporting; Shinjini Ganguli edited the piece.)
