All Chrome users now have access to Privacy Sandbox, a technology developed by Google to substitute third-party cookies. According to the corporation, this tool, which tracks subjects of interest based on browsing behavior, is more privacy-conscious. Then, advertisers can use this information to display appropriate advertising to you.
Over the past few days, the corporation has displayed a new popup called Privacy Sandbox to users. Users have expressed dissatisfaction over the popup’s lack of information regarding the cookie replacement technology and how the business will provide subjects of interest based on surfing data if you click “Got it.” Paul Graham, an investor, even referred to this popup as “spyware.”
Users will also have access to various ad settings during the launch. The privacy sandbox experience will be activated by default if you choose “Got it” when the popup appears. To turn it off, navigate to Settings> Privacy and Security> Ad Privacy> Ad Topics. Said this will prevent marketers from displaying niche-specific adverts.
Users can also view the subjects created by Chrome’s system and ban irrelevant ones using the Ad Subjects tab.
According to StatCounter, Google Chrome has a market share of more than 60% and is the market leader. However, rivals like Safari and Firefox have been banning third-party cookies for a while now; thus, it was last in line to turn them off.
Chrome’s strategy to gradually phase out cookies has encountered several setbacks since the firm planned to launch its replacement for targeted adverts before enforcing third-party cookie banning. The business said in May that starting in the second half of 2024, it would disable third-party cookies by default for all users. Google also stated that it will begin this rollout in Q1 2024 with 1% of users.
Advertisers and developers are concerned about the effects of implementing the new solution because Chrome is such a significant source of web traffic. The business released the API to the general public in July for developers to test the new Privacy Sandbox environment. The company plans to release a simulation environment to help developers prepare for a world without cookies. According to Insider Intelligence, even though advertisers have been experimenting with alternatives to cookies, they are still heavily investing in the current solution in places like India.
Although Google has argued that its approach ends the use of third-party cookies as a fallback, organizations like the W3C Technical Architecture Group (TAG) have expressed reservations about the search engine giant’s implementation. They said that because the Topics API is only supported by Chromium, sites may be able to prohibit users or restrict access for users of other browsers.
In a blog post earlier this week, the marketing advocacy group Movement for the Open Web said that Google collects a lot of personal information through the Privacy Sandbox that is “sourced through an opt-in process that it’s hard for most web users to avoid.”
