Ad world is relieved but skeptical about Google’s decision to keep cookies in Chrome

Three delays, to be precise, since 2020. And with each delay, the new timeline for getting rid of cookies only got vaguer, fueling growing cynicism among ad execs. Google did try to smooth things over, to be fair. There were grants for some, meetings with its Privacy Sandbox’s development team for others. But these efforts often felt insufficient to really calm anyone’s nerves.

Just last week, publishers and ad tech execs were voicing concerns over recent tests of Google’s Privacy Sandbox alternatives. Even agencies had stopped pushing for scaled trials of these alternatives. Somewhere along the way, Google’s plan for life after third-party cookies got lost in transition.

Instead, Google has cooked up something that seems, at least on the surface, to mimic Apple’s plan to stamp out third-party tracking on its devices — well, from the tiny bit it has shared so far.

According to a blog post on Monday by Anthony Chavez, vp of the Privacy Sandbox, Google “would introduce a new experience in Chrome that lets people make an informed choice that applies across their web browsing, and they’d be able to adjust that choice at any time.”

That’s all Google is revealing for now. There are no details yet on what this experience would look like for Chrome users, how they would be shown it or how it would work. Judging by the initial reaction, it’s safe to say the ad industry is thoroughly underwhelmed.

Ruben Schreurs, chief strategy officer at media management business Ebiquity, voiced some of that apathy. “Whilst it sounds interesting on paper, the notion of giving consumers a single broad consent control that applies to all third-party trackers across their entire web browsing experience simply does not comply with current regulations and definitions around informed specific consent.

That’s a big “if,” considering regulators would need to approve the plan — a process that, as Google’s ongoing work with the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority has shown, is far from easy. But even if a consensus is reached, the control Google would give users over whether to be tracked by third-party cookies would need to be opt-in, said Schreurs. If that happens, expect a significant drop in third-party cookies being used. Just like what happened when Apple did something similar in 2021.

“The bottom line is that Google has decided to take a different path: instead of forcibly opting users out, they will ask for their consent, and as a strong supporter of user choice and user privacy, I welcome that approach,” said Epsilon’s chief analytics officer Loch Rose.

However this approach shakes out, third-party cookies are clearly on notice. There will come a time in the not-too-distant future when they’re not widely available. The writing’s on the wall. Anyone who’s banked on this happening can rest easy knowing their bets haven’t been in vain, despite Google’s decision.

“Innovation and work here doesn’t punish us,” said Justin Wohl, CRO of Snopes and TV Tropes. “We’ll still get the upside of the cookie-enabled users … while also not experiencing as low of a low on [non-cookied browsers like Safari and Firefox].”

Based on this view, publishers should be able to rest easy. The ones that took the time to test and implement cookie-less alternatives still stand to benefit in the long run.

It’s a thought not lost on Grant Parker, president of Flashtalking by Mediaocean.

“A lot of the good work that was done to prepare for the cookie-less future will continue to apply to omnichannel advertising,” said Parker. “With the emergence of social media, CTV and other cookie-less channels, advertisers were already adapting to working in a multi-ID, multi-signal environment, and Google’s change of plans won’t change this basic reality.”

Until there’s more clarity on the future, much of the focus will be mired in the past. Debates will swirl about how we got to this point after what has felt like a never-ending cycle of deadlines and extensions over the last four years.

Especially since even Google execs have started sounding less certain about the future of cookies in recent months. It became clear to some ad execs that their contacts at Google were sounding less sure about the future.

Some ad execs candidly discussed the possibility that the Sandbox might never work, and even mused about features remarkably similar to what Google is now proposing.

All of a sudden, the speculation starts to make a lot more sense. Maybe execs should’ve seen this coming sooner. Jason Bier, chief privacy officer at Adstra, did. Back in February, he penned an article in AdExchanger, predicting Google wouldn’t ditch third-party cookies in Chrome due to mounting pressure from regulators, lawmakers and the ad industry at large.

What execs like this are getting at is simple: Google’s plan to nix third-party addressability in its browser got stuck between appeasing privacy advocates and keeping ad performance (and revenue) intact. It’s the addressability equivalent of an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object. In the end, it was a lot of hoo-ha that wasted time and money better spent on other pressing issues.

“While this doesn’t present absolute closure that there will be a new privacy roadmap for Chrome, I’m encouraged by the bold move here,” said Mark McEachran, vp of product management at ad tech vendor Yieldmo. “At the very least, this all but likely gives an air of much-needed certainty on how the industry can adapt and move forward without concerns about the unknown”