Google has modified course once more, announcing that it can explore a “latest path” around online privacy as a substitute of deprecating third-party cookies in Chrome. The dramatic halt to Google’s plans after four-plus years of guarantees and delays comes as the corporate’s vision for a cookieless future continued to face resistance from several corners of the ad landscape.
Many marketers will welcome the stay of execution for a technology that has long been a bedrock of digital marketing, however the move is prone to shakeup the growing alternative ID space. And while consumers and regulators have yet to weigh in, the choice might be moot amid the continued growth of cookieless spaces like connected TV (CTV) and mobile.
“This news has sent ripples through the industry. While it might appear as a reprieve for advertisers who rely heavily on cookie-based tracking, the industry’s trajectory towards enhanced privacy and user consent stays unchanged,” said Marçal Serrate, director of information technology at Azerion, in emailed comments.
Google didn’t detail what the brand new approach would entail, but said it’s discussing the “latest path” with regulators and can engage the industry across the developments. The company will proceed to make available and spend money on the Privacy Sandbox APIs — its proposed cookie alternative — and plans to supply additional privacy controls, similar to IP Protection in Chrome’s Incognito mode.
“We are proposing an updated approach that elevates user alternative. Instead of deprecating third-party cookies, we might introduce a latest experience in Chrome that lets people make an informed alternative that applies across their web browsing, and so they’d be capable of adjust that alternative at any time,” Anthony Chavez, vp of Google’s Privacy Sandbox, said in a blog post.
It is unclear if Google will select an opt-in or opt-out mechanism for moving forward with cookies, leaving advertisers deeper in limbo. For comparison, Apple rolled out its App Tracking Transparency (ATT) framework in 2021 and required consumers to opt-in to tracking by apps.
Since then, consumers behaviors around opting in have evolved: Across the globe, 50% of users now opt-in to tracking through ATT, a ten% increase since its debut, per AppsFlyer data. If Google decides to proceed using cookies with an opt-out option, consumers should expect pop-ups like those currently in place as a consequence of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation regulation.
“Expect more annoying EU-style pop-ups on every site you visit. This will be bad for UX, but will keep the regulators comfortable on either side of the Atlantic,” said Rio Longacre, managing director of promoting and marketing transformation at consulting company Slalom, in emailed comments.
Winners and losers
Google in 2020 first announced that it might end support for cookies, a key technology in digital promoting, but delayed its plans several times, most recently pushing back the timeline in April. Throughout the method, advertisers, publishers, the ad-tech industry, trade bodies and — perhaps most significantly — regulators like the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) aired concerns about how the removal of third-party cookies would disrupt the digital promoting industry and put an excessive amount of control in Google’s hands. The considerable pushback makes Google’s latest decision more of a moderate surprise than a real shock.
“I don’t see it as an announcement that significantly changes things,” said Loch Rose, chief analytics officer at Epsilon, in emailed comments. “The expected end result is basically the identical — the one difference is more users may now wind up selecting to retain [third-party cookies] than if Google imposed the change, so just one other step on the journey really.”
The journey to a cookieless future is about to proceed, especially because the ad industry has invested countless hours and dollars in privacy solutions despite Google’s previous delays. Plus, the continued development of cookieless channels like CTV have made a post-cookie environment an inevitable a part of promoting, regardless of Google’s plans.
“Lots of the nice work that was done to organize for the cookieless future will proceed to use to omnichannel promoting,” said Grant Parker, president of personalization platform Flashtalking by Mediaocean, in emailed comments. “And with the continuing development of privacy regulations, it can still be imperative to be mindful of consumer alternative and consent.”
Much of the work that has been done by vendors developing alternative IDs that allow for tracking or targeting in privacy-safe ways. Google’s announcement will likely speed up a culling process in an area that had already seen the emergence of just a few strong contenders.
“Looking over the following yr, they’re probably all toast aside from just a few of the large identity spines. My guess is we now find yourself with just the walled garden IDs, plus The Trade Desk’s UID2, and LiveRamp’s RampID,” said Slalom’s Longacre.
AI, regulation still in play
While the news might result in a reckoning for alternative ID vendors, not all ad-tech providers are created equal: Those offering advertisers cookie-based solutions could see latest light, especially when incorporating the buzziest technology of the moment, artificial intelligence (AI).
“Over the following few months, I expect to see an influx of latest promoting solutions that utilize AI to research cookie-based data to raised goal customers,” said Eli Goodman, CEO of Datos, a Semrush company that gives clickstream data, in emailed comments.
Meanwhile, possible regulator and legislative motion proceed to loom large over Google’s moves and the longer term of internet marketing. While privacy laws in the shape of the American Privacy Rights Act is again unlikely to be voted on by Congress, the Supreme Court’s recent Chevron decision muddies the waters around any regulation of web privacy.
As advertisers wait for Google’s plans for a latest path forward to materialize, they’ll likely have to keep working to deal with signal loss that’s already affecting consumer tracking and ad targeting. More than half of U.S. consumers use a mobile web browser that blocks cookies, and greater than 30% use ad blockers, in response to Andrew Richardson, senior vp of advanced analytics and measurement at digital marketing agency New Engen.
“Brands and agencies may feel relieved by this news, but they shouldn’t let their guard down. Even without this development, signals are already eroding,” Richardson said in emailed comments. “As an industry, we want to prioritize consumer privacy and adapt to a world without cookies fairly than trying to avoid the inevitable decline of those signals.”
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