Join us in NYC this Thursday, July 23 from 5-8 p.m.
WTF are private state tokens in Google’s Privacy Sandbox?
This article is part of a special Digiday editorial series to catch you up on the basics of Google’s phaseout of third-party cookies. More from the series →
The third-party cookie’s deprecation — and broader crackdown on cross-site tracking practices, such as device fingerprinting — comes with side effects. One side effect is losing the means for companies to combat bot traffic. To account for this consequence, Google’s Privacy Sandbox features a proposal for fighting fraudulent traffic called Private State Tokens.
Private State Tokens effectively have sites that are able to authenticate site visitors be the ones to vouch for those visitors’ authenticity so that they can be trusted by other sites. As broken down in this explainer video, it’s akin to a friend recommending a therapist to another friend — albeit with the web browser providing a privacy-preserving means for passing on that recommendation.
More in Marketing
Five things the World Cup taught marketers about creators
The World Cup has wrapped, which means it’s time for the obligatory marketing takeaways piece.
Walmart reveals soccer fans’ World Cup shopping habits
New data is from Walmart is showing that consumer shopping habits shifted during the 2026 World Cup.
Future of Marketing Briefing: What World Cup breakout stars Haaland and Zlatan can teach marketers about sports stardom
This year’s soccer darlings confirm the emergence of a new kind of sporting celebrity in direct conversation with fandom and social media.