Google Defers Chrome's Blocking of Tracking Cookies Until 2023

Questions about the cookie-less world remain and the delay in blocking tracking cookies is ultimately good for consumers while a privacy-conscious solution is evolved.

Google is not getting rid of tracking cookies in Chrome until 2023, the company announced last month, after having planned to do away with them by January 2022. Ahead of this decision, the impending deadline that was being called the Cookiepocalypse had been the centre of many discussions about how Internet based companies would be able to sustain their advertising supported businesses. While some warned of a seismic shift in the Internet as we know it, others pointed out that the impact of the Cookiepocalypse would be limited due to other identity trackers advertisers would be able to use, and a few people even suggested it ought to be possible to advertise to people without forensically tearing them apart for analyst

The Cookiepocalypse has been delayed, but the industry must still prepare for it.

Google is not getting rid of tracking cookies in Chrome until 2023, the company announced last month, after having planned to do away with them by January 2022. Ahead of this decision, the impending deadline that was being called the Cookiepocalypse had been the centre of many discussions about how Internet based companies would be able to sustain their advertising supported businesses. While some warned of a seismic shift in the Internet as we know it, others pointed out that the impact of the Cookiepocalypse would be limited due to other identity trackers advertisers would be able to use, and a few people even suggested it ought to be possible to advertise to people without forensically tearing them apart for analysis.

So what does this decision mean for you and me? The business implications will take some time to play out, but as consumers, Google's decision to delay could actually be a good thing, people say, as alternative systems need to be evolved and deployed. Here's what you need to understand about the whole process.

Cookies permit websites to remember you, your logins, and other important information. They may, however, be a gold mine of personal data for cybercriminals to snoop on. Many competing browsers, such as Safari, Microsoft, and Firefox, have already blocked some third-party tracking cookies. But Chrome is still the most widely used desktop browser, so the move will have a more significant impact on the advertising industry.

However, it's worth noting that the impact of this move is going to be reduced by the huge growth of smartphones. Tejinder Gill, General Manager, India, at ad-tech company The Trade Desk, noted that almost 80 percent of users in the country are on smartphones and not using a desktop browser, and for these users, things will not change even if Google were to remove tracking cookies from Chrome. However, he noted that more time needed to be given to ensure that a privacy conscious approach can grow instead.

“The move by Google is ultimately good news for the industry. Any new identity solution has to be consumer conscious if it is to meet the evolving regulatory and consumer scrutiny,” Gill said.“The industry has been waiting for privacy-conscious approach that provide long-lasting benefits.”