Google is turning off third-party cookies for 1 percent of Chrome users early next year

Google is talking about a plan for Chrome to block third-party cookies that track user activity on many different websites from 2020. Its stated intention at the time was to complete the changeover within two years. Three years later, that hasn’t happened, as proposals for the replacement technology have been criticized by competitors and privacy advocates and scrutinized by regulators who want to know whether they would give Google an unfair advertising advantage.

Now, google is announcing That when Chrome 115 is released in July, it will include support for the Privacy Sandbox set of replacement standards so that companies can test them on a wider scale. They won’t be turned on for everyone, but users can activate them without opting in to the test or turning on a browser flag before they’re enabled for more people by default.

This screenshot is an “in progress” of what the Settings screen could look like once the new technology is rolled out in Chrome.

A Post on its Chrome Developers Blog There is more detail about which technology is shipping. The list includes the Topics API that presents certain data to advertisers about your activity and user interest based on the FLEDGE tool for “remarketing and serving custom audiences”, which has been renamed Protected audience, to name a few of them.

Google also listed other milestones that have already rolled out, such as reducing passively shared browser data to prevent fingerprinting and Federated Credential Management which enables the use of “Sign in with…”-style services without opening users up to tracking on various sites.

There’s also an update coming later this year that will let developers simulate “Chrome third party cookie deprecation” for any percentage of their users, so they can test how it works once it rolls out. Will happen.

We spoke to Google director of product Victor Wong about the plan, which he said has been developed with input from the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). While the proposed end of third-party cookie support (Safari and some other browsers like Firefox are blocked by default for years now) has been delayed repeatedly, Google now says it will allow 1 percent of Chrome users in the first quarter. Will turn it off. of 2024.

Last July, Google announced a late-2024 target for turning off third-party cookies, and while the news isn’t exactly a delay, the company says it will “continue to work closely with the CMA”. “Because it expands by more than 1 percent. Chrome users in the second half of next year.