Catching many off guard, Google announced on Monday that they are not unilaterally getting rid of third-party cookies on Chrome. Instead, they are going to invite users to make an “informed choice that applies across their web browsing.” Although the specifics aren’t clear yet, this seemingly means Google will present Chrome users with the choice to either opt-in or opt-out of third-party cookies. Google was planning to impose full deprecation in 2025, but after many delays due to regulatory and industry pressure, it’s not surprising that they are modifying their approach.
The announcement has caused many marketers and brands to ask, once again, “what does this mean for me?” While the information coming from Google about the shift is limited, third-party cookie deprecation is still happening—and may well accelerate with this new change.
We’ve all been operating with limits on third-party cookies for a while—Safari, Firefox and Edge all opted to get rid of third-party cookies in the past five years, meaning a large portion of web activity in the U.S. has actually been on browsers that don’t accept them. Google’s Chrome is just the last holdout among major browsers.
No matter how it plays out for Chrome, it’s critical that marketers continue to invest in tools and tactics that don’t rely on third-party cookies. If you’re looking to better understand Google’s moves, how it will impact your day-to-day (or the adtech partners you work with), and how to proceed from here, keep reading.
To opt-in or to opt-out, that is the question. Google has not given us any hints as to whether users will actively have to opt-in to third-party cookies on Chrome, but, given that Google’s stated reason for eliminating third-party is to improve user privacy, it is highly likely that users will be asked to opt-in to tracking. The most comparable previous event is Apple’s rollout of the App Tracking Transparency (ATT) framework in 2021, which required users to opt-in. Only 16% opted-in to tracking initially. Over time that number has increased to 34%, as apps are allowed to renew their opt-in requests (and some users have responded to those requests)—but that won’t apply to Chrome, because the user is making a browser-level decision not an app-specific decision. Given the latter, we expect opt-in rates well under 10% for Chrome.
All that said, if Google makes the very likely (and more regulatory-friendly) decision to ask Chrome users to actively opt-in to third-party cookies, advertisers can expect to see significant signal loss, because when given the choice, most users will not agree to tracking.
After hearing an announcement like this, it’s understandable to feel like the ground is shifting under your feet, but it’s imperative that marketers stay on course.
We just covered that, although Chrome’s third-party cookies are technically here to stay, most users will choose to opt-out of them. What happens to all your customers and prospects that opt-out? How will you reach them?
Those questions are exactly why it’s important for marketers to continue building out their first-party data strategies, investing in martech and adtech solutions that can reach people without relying on third-party cookies, and working with partners that enable person-first marketing across channels and technology and privacy compliance from the jump.
Even though third-party cookies live to see another day, they’re still unreliable. The key is future-proofing your digital media strategy to ensure you can deliver to customers what they want: privacy and personalization.
Epsilon saw the flaws of third-party cookies long ago. Since 2012, we've invested in media solutions that do not need (and will never need) third-party cookies to deliver and measure personalized advertising at scale. Here's how it works:
The proof? Today, marketers using Epsilon Digital are already reaching and measuring 1:1 ads on Safari and iOS (browsers that do not have third-party cookies intact). Currently, 33% of the impressions Epsilon Digital serves worldwide go to identified (and valuable) Apple users.
Google may be backtracking on their decisions, but that doesn’t mean you have to follow suit. Marketers that prioritize reaching customers in a privacy-compliant way that doesn’t require third-party cookies are the ones that can—and will—have their cookie and eat it too.