As people became more concerned with data privacy, in 2021, Google announced they were moving towards deprecating third party cookies on their Chrome browser. After several delays, Google announced this week they are no longer taking this action.

Why is this important?

Over the last few years, there’s been a big movement toward online data privacy. Cookies were originally created as a way for websites to manage session data and personalize a user’s experience based on information they filled out or elements they interacted with on a site. Over time, cookies started being used for more, especially for marketing. Cookies evolved into a tool for data companies to use to profile users based on their behaviors, psychographics, demographics, etc., across the web.

Today, cookies have become the primary way we target shoppers and buyers in digital marketing. Google’s surprise announcement suggests they don’t want to be at the forefront of potentially disrupting the way an entire industry has operated. As a result of this decision, the responsibility for data privacy compliance will be more on individual businesses and websites who are still utilizing third-party cookies. Their challenge will be balancing business priorities with international government regulations.

What’s next?

This news doesn’t necessarily mean Google isn’t taking measures towards data privacy. There are rumors about Google allowing Chrome users to choose whether third-party cookies are used during their web browsing, rather than completely phasing them out.

Regardless of Google’s announcement, the industry is still moving towards a cookieless future. By Google not putting a hard cutoff date, the industry will continue to refine tools and data models developed to replace the way the industry has traditionally targeted.

At Imaginuity, we constantly keep up with industry trends and developments to provide value to our clients in a rapidly evolving marketing landscape. If you’d like to learn more about this topic or get information about our media and website services, please contact us today.