In August 2019, Google announced its “Privacy Sandbox” initiative. According to the Director of Chrome Engineering, Justin Schuh, “Our goal is to make the web more secure and private for everyone out there. But we also want to support the publishers.”
In January 2020, Google published another blog post titled:
“Building a more private web: A path
towards making third-party cookies obsolete.”
Here, they made things a bit clearer:
This means Google plans on phasing out third-party cookies by 2022. Recently, they shared another update, where they claimed:
Firefox started blocking third-party cookies in 2019. Safari did the same in 2020. But, Chrome makes up about 56% of the web browser market.
Maybe you are using Chrome while reading this blog post. On the other hand, maybe you are not. Irrespective of that, Chrome handles more than 50% of the world traffic.
This means Google’s “Privacy Sandbox” initiative will be huge. And by the time Google puts it into force, businesses need to shield themselves.
This move will have a major impact on some businesses. Whereas it won’t mean a thing for others. So, to understand the level of impact it’ll have on your business, you need to learn what the third-party cookies phaseout is all about.
Let’s have a look.
Third-Party Cookie Phaseout: What You Should Know
“Privacy – like eating and breathing –
is one of life’s basic requirements.”
– Katherine Neville
Recently, we have witnessed people voice their opinions on the subject of privacy. Most of it claim it to be an “oxymoron.”
Google’s core motive behind this initiative is to build a more private and secure internet. Let’s be honest here.
Up until now, brands have been using third-party cookies for:
- Behavioral Advertising
- Ad Retargeting
That’s the primary motive.
Let’s say you visit a website www.ecommerce.net. And when you click on a product, the third-party trackers will process and collect your information and your activity on the website. So, when you leave the website and visit another website, you’ll be displayed ads from www.ecommerce.net.
But, with Google planning to phase third-party cookies out, it’ll have an impact on:
- Audience buying based on 3rd-party data
- Retargeting
- Data activation on web
- Attribution
And if you are worried that you won’t be able to track your website visitors’ data, then relax!
Google is phasing out third-party cookies.
First-party cookies are here to stay.
This move will not impact:
- First-party cookie tracking
- Offline data onboarding using phones/emails
- Tracking and retargeting on Android/iOS
So, if you rely on first-party cookie data, chances are things will not change for you.
However, if your business model or marketing tactics completely rely on pop-up ads, pinpointed audience-targeted strategy, and robust data for online advertising, you need to keep an eye on as things develop.
Conclusion
Third-party cookie phaseout isn’t just another initiative taken by Google. Instead, it’s revolutionary. We are about to take the first step towards building a more privacy-friendly web.
With the likes of ITP & GDPR, experts saw this coming a mile away. However, not many have taken steps to shield their businesses.
Don’t take this lightly. The “Privacy Sandbox” initiative may have a major impact on your business.
So, what are you waiting for?
Protect yourself with our world-class Digital Marketing services in Boise today.
