Google Delays Third-Party Cookies' End Again

Google announced yesterday that it is delaying its elimination of third-party cookies in its Chrome browser yet again.

"We will not complete third-party cookie deprecation during the second half of [the fourth quarter of 2024]," the company relayed in a statement on its website. "We recognize that there are ongoing challenges related to reconciling divergent feedback from the industry, regulators, and developers and will continue to engage closely with the entire ecosystem.

This is the third time Google has pushed back its original deadline. It originally said in 2020 that cookies would go away within two years. For now, Google seems to have next year in mind.

Apple began the cookie deprecation process in 2017 when it eliminated cookies with its Safari browser. Mozilla followed suit in 2019 with its Firefox browser.

This setback is significant for advertisers who rely on Chrome, a key platform for connecting with consumers, with nearly two-thirds of internet traffic passing through it.

Like many across the marketing landscape, Drew Stein, CEO of Audigent, a data activation, curation and identity platform, provider, isn't surprised. "Google heard the alarm bells from the industry that nearly 20 years of ad tech infrastructure cannot be recreated in six months. Now it is up to the industry to use this time to address the gaps and provide specific feedback to fix Privacy Sandbox. It's also time for Google to stop just listening to all of the needed changes and deliver on the promise of a better ecosystem together by actually implementing them," he says.

Neither was Tom Cheli, CEO of Frequence, a provider of advertising sales automation and workflow software.

"While Google's announcement that full-scale third-party cookie deprecation may have come as a surprise to some and a relief to others, Frequence will continue to conduct our business as usual," he says. "The Frequence team has worked under the assumption that, at the very least, third-party cookies would be undergoing some sort of alteration in the future. Frequence's campaigns use thousands of non-cookie-based targeting signals; they've performed exceptionally well for our partners and their advertisers without having to rely upon third-party cookies. While the arrival date of the cookieless future seems to have been pushed back, we believe it is inevitable, and we'll be ready for it."

Brian Danzis, president of North America at Seedtag, a provider of contextual advertising technology, points out that many companies and ad agencies have already begun scaling alternatives to cookies.

"We submit that Google's delay is actually a positive for the industry, allowing advertisers more time to test, understand, and quantify the value created by alternative solutions and how they can be incorporated into targeting playbooks, ensuring a smooth transition once cookies inevitably do disappear," he says.