We’ve long talked about the arrival of a cookie-less world, but like anything else in digital marketing, that position seems to be ever-evolving. Are they going? Are they staying?
In this blog, James Semczuk, Analytics Strategist, will talk about third party cookies, their impact on digital marketing, and where a browser might get cookies.
What You’ll Learn
- What Are Third-Party Cookies?
- Google’s Evolution of Third-Party Cookies
- Google’s Current Position on Third-Party Cookies
- Third-Party Cookie Action Items
Our Expert Insight on Third-Party Cookies
Google’s decision to keep third party cookies is a welcome breath of relief for marketers. However, marketers should not take their eyes off of implementing data best practices. We should all strive to keep up with the latest on Google’s Privacy Sandbox and continue to invest in endeavors that improve signal resilience like server side tracking.
Additionally, marketers should diversify their ability to evaluate their marketing performance and make critical decisions about how to best grow their business. The tools at the top of this list are predictive customer lifetime, media mix modeling, and incrementality testing. A healthy usage of all three will allow marketers to understand how much they can spend to acquire new customers leading to optimized spend caps, develop a clear picture of how each marketing channel they employ contributes to their success, and employ empirical data to answer the biggest questions they have for their marketing initiatives.
What Are Third-Party Cookies?
Third-party cookies are pieces of data that allow companies to track someone’s personal information online. They are a vital component for digital marketing, supporting ad targeting. When someone visits a site, another platform (not the site domain) monitors and records online activity such as which sites a user visits, how long they stay on those sites, and what actions a user takes.
While third-party cookies may not be something we talk about every day, we do experience them quite often. It’s no coincidence that when you look for a product online, you suddenly start seeing ads across the internet.
There’s more than one type of cookie. First-party cookies are another type. Here’s how they compare.
First-Party Cookies vs Third-Party Cookies
First-party cookies also track your online behavior, but the domain you’re on is the one doing so. These cookies are responsible for important components of the user experience like storing your login information or your preferred language setting.
You must opt-in to accept cookies, something you encounter on almost any website. They also remember settings for you, like language or location.
Key ways in which first-party cookies differ from third-party cookies:
- Availability: First-party cookies are only accessible on the domain that created them. A third-party cookie could be accessible on any website that loads the code.
- Privacy considerations: Anyone can block first-party cookies by opting out. Browsers like Firefox and Safari already block them. Google, the largest market share leader globally, does not and will not automatically block cookies.
- Data ownership: Domains own the first-party data they collect. Third-party cookie data feeds into ad tech platforms and may be sold to other parties.
- Data quality: Third-party cookies aren’t people-based and treat every device differently, causing inaccuracies in targeting. First-party cookies offer a new and better approach to targeting. They use a hashing algorithm that enables publishers and advertisers to convert first-party data into anonymous, secure identifiers.
As previously mentioned, third-party cookies aren’t interoperable and are only domain-specific. Other issues include the fact that these cookies aren’t persistent, as they get deleted and cleared, nor are they consistent, as they only exist in the web environment.
As companies have more access to first-party data, the quality and accuracy of targeting rise, leading to better conversion rates and the ability to attribute these to the ad platform.
Google’s Evolution of Third-Party Cookies
Cookies were created to enhance user experience. Developer Lou Montulli at Netscape designed them for ecommerce shopping carts, ensuring items stayed in the cart if a customer left and returned.
Fast forward, and advertisers began exploiting them for tracking and targeting ads. As privacy concerns grew, ad blockers popped up and we started seeing privacy regulations like the GDPR, requiring user consent for data collection.
Google planned on removing these third-party cookies, until the end of June 2024.
What’s the latest update? Let’s break down the timeline:
- 2017: Concerns for public privacy start to appear. In 2017, Google began implementing changes to Chrome that would limit cross-site tracking, including blocking redirects from HTTP to HTTPS sites when cookies were involved.
- 2018: The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) became effective in May 2018. This required explicit consent for cookie usage in the European Union.
- 2019: Google announces its Privacy Sandbox initiative, proposing to phase out third-party cookies while developing privacy-preserving alternatives for advertisers. The initial proposal included Federated Learning of Cohorts (FLoC), which was later abandoned in favor of the Topics API in 2022.
- 2020: Google announced plans to remove cookies on Chrome and would begin trials on how to replace them. It also introduced the Privacy Sandbox, which uses APIs (application programming interfaces) to allow users to protect information while browsing in Chrome. The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) also became law in 2020. This gave consumers in California the right to opt out of cookie-based tracking, forcing Google to reconsider its approach to user data collection.
- 2021: Google updated its Privacy Sandbox timeline with Stage 1 in late 2022 and would launch it in Chrome with a third-party cookie phaseout set for 2023.
- 2022: Concerned about potential market dominance, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) investigates Google’s plans. This delays the original timeline to deprecate third party cookies
- January 2024: After multiple delays, Google shared that it had disabled cookies for about 1% of users (approximately 30 million users).
- April 2024: Google said it would delay third-party cookie deprecation again.
- July 2024: Google abandoned plans to deprecate third-party cookies.
- October 2024: Google launches user-controlled cookie settings that still allow third-party cookies while addressing privacy concerns.
Why Did Google Decide to Delay Plans?
What’s behind all the delays and the latest decision to end deprecation completely? It’s complicated.
First, Google pushing back its end to cookies had much to do with insufficient replacement. Without an adequate alternative, Google and digital marketers faced significant revenue losses. Ads fund the internet and a key source of revenue for Google, after all. Finding the balance between user privacy, equitable advertising, and revenue was apparently insurmountable.
Second, there were a lot of hiccups in testing the Privacy Sandbox. Google published some of this, and while the results for recovery of ad performance weren’t terrible, there was still a significant decrease in performance. Additionally, the sample size was small, and there were ongoing technical issues with the Privacy Sandbox regarding latency. Finally, publisher adoption of the Privacy Sandbox was low.
The new era in Google cookies begins now. Here’s what it looks like.
Google’s Current Position on Third-Party Cookies
Google’s July 22 post from Anthony Chavez, VP of Privacy Sandbox announced they are no longer removing third-party cookies from Chrome. They cited feedback from stakeholders and continued work on the Privacy Sandbox as ongoing.
Chavez noted that the Privacy Sandbox APIs “have the potential to achieve” outcomes that publishers and advertisers expect. However, it’s not there yet. The company will keep working on it and improving it. Much of the conversation still centers around privacy, so Chrome users will now get a choice. They will be able to opt into browser tracking or reject it.
First Party vs. Third Party Cookies: Key Differences
| Feature | First-Party Cookies | Third-Party Cookies |
| Availability | Created and stored by the website you’re visiting | Created by domains other than the one you’re visiting |
| Privacy | Higher privacy standards, less scrutiny | Major privacy concerns, subject to regulations |
| Data Ownership | Owned by the website that the user directly visits | Owned by external parties with no direct user relationship |
| Data Quality | More reliable, direct user interactions | Less reliable, based on cross-site tracking |
As third-party cookie deprecation continues, Google is emphasizing privacy-compliant advertising alternatives through its Privacy Sandbox technologies. These include the Topics API, which enables interest-based advertising without tracking individual browsing history, and FLEDGE for remarketing capabilities.
This shift to cookieless marketing requires businesses to adapt their strategies significantly. This is why many companies are increasingly turning to first-party data collection, contextual marketing, and device-based targeting to maintain effective ad targeting without relying on third-party cookies.
Google’s approach strikes a balance between privacy concerns and practical solutions for the advertising industry, ensuring a responsible transition to a more privacy-focused web.
Third-Party Cookie Action Items
Instead of getting stuck on the idea of how to enable third party cookies, consider these action items for your next moves instead:
- Pursue first-party data strategies that include:
- Website tracking using tools such as Google Analytics 4, Mixpanel, or Amplitude.
- Surveys with tools like Qualtrics, SurveyMonkey, or Typeform
- Loyalty programs with tools like Yotpo, LoyaltyLion, or Smile.io
- Account registrations with tools like Auth0 or LoginRadius
- Add progressive fields to forms that ask new questions to those already in your database with tools like HubSpot, Marketo Smart Forms, or Pardot.
- Ensure you are centralizing first-party data in your CRMs like Salesforce, HubSpot, or Microsoft Dynamics 365, so you can segment accordingly.
- Use contextual targeting as the basis for third-party digital advertising. You can leverage tools like GumGum, Oracle Contextual Intelligence, or Seedtag for content-based ad placement and incorporate Integral Ad Science (IAS) Context Control for brand safety and relevance.
- Move budgets to cookieless advertising tactics. You can shift budgets to streaming platforms like Roku or Hulu, native advertising networks like Outbrain, or invest in places like LinkedIn or Pinterest that use their own data for targeting.
- Explore alternatives to tracking and measuring, such as the alternative identifiers that some demand-side platforms (DSPs) are piloting. You can test The Trade Desk’s Unified ID 2.0, explore LiveRamp’s RampID solution, or evaluate Lotame Panorama ID or ID5 Universal ID through DSP pilots.
- Review compliance with privacy regulations regarding first-party data collection, utilizing consent management platforms (CMPs), such as OneTrust, CookieYes, or Cookieboy, to facilitate transparency and standardization.
- Stay informed about Google’s progress with the Privacy Sandbox through IAB Tech Lab resources and follow developments in Google Ad Manager and Chrome announcements.
- Work with trusted partners that understand the ever-changing digital advertising landscape.
- Research tools that support first-party data collection, including marketing automation platform form management, customer data platforms, and Google Tag Manager.
- Add to your measurement arsenal with tools like incrementality testing, media mix modeling, and predictive customer lifetime value.
As third-party cookie deprecation continues and users start to use tools like cookie extract Chrome extensions to get around third party collections, combining these tools with privacy-compliant advertising strategies will help you maintain effective targeting while respecting user privacy preferences.
Alternative Strategies for Marketers
While Google figures out exactly how it’s going to handle third-party cookies moving forward, it is in your best interest to explore alternative strategies to marketing. These strategies should balance effective targeting with privacy compliance. So, when your audience is struggling with the idea of “should I block third party cookies?,” you’ll still be able to reach them with your advertisements and content.
Leveraging First-Party Data
First-party data has become the cornerstone of privacy-compliant advertising. While this is a more consumer-friendly option, it also provides more reliable insights than third-party cookies ever could. Platforms like Salesforce Customer 360, Adobe Experience Platform, and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Insights can centralize and activate this valuable resource.
To maximize first-party data collection, implement a comprehensive strategy using:
- Website analytics tools like Google Analytics 4, which is specifically designed for a cookieless environment
- Customer feedback platforms such as Qualtrics or SurveyMonkey
- Email marketing systems like Mailchimp or Klaviyo that capture behavioral data
- Progressive profiling through form tools in HubSpot or Marketo
- Customer loyalty programs built with specialized platforms like Yotpo or LoyaltyLion
The key advantage of first-party data is its quality and compliance. Customers have directly shared this information with you, meaning it’s typically more accurate than third party data.
Embracing Contextual Advertising
Contextual advertising represents a return to fundamentals: placing ads based on content relevance rather than user tracking. What started as simple keyword matching has evolved significantly into something more.
Modern contextual platforms, such as GumGum, Oracle Contextual Intelligence, and Seedtag, utilize AI to analyze content at a deeper level. It is trained to recognize themes, sentiment, and even imagery to place ads in truly relevant environments. These solutions can match or exceed the performance of cookie-based targeting while eliminating privacy concerns.
Understanding Privacy Sandbox Initiatives
Google’s Privacy Sandbox proposes several APIs designed to enable marketing functionality without individual tracking:
- Topics API: Categorizes users’ interests based on browsing history without sharing specific sites visited
- FLEDGE: Facilitates remarketing without cross-site tracking
- Attribution Reporting API: Measures conversion events while preserving privacy
While still evolving, Privacy Sandbox technologies represent Google’s vision for privacy-compliant ad targeting. Marketers should monitor developments through resources like the IAB Tech Lab and prepare their implementation strategies accordingly.
Utilizing Data Clean Rooms
Data clean rooms provide secure environments where first-party data from multiple sources can be analyzed without compromising user privacy. Solutions like Google’s Ads Data Hub, Amazon Marketing Cloud, and Snowflake’s Data Clean Room enable:
- Cross-platform measurement without exposing individual user data
- Audience insights across walled gardens
- Campaign optimization based on aggregated behaviors
Companies like LiveRamp, InfoSum, and Habu offer specialized clean room technologies that facilitate these secure data collaborations while maintaining strict privacy controls. These environments will become increasingly important as direct data sharing becomes more restricted.
By developing expertise in these alternative strategies, you can potentially develop even deeper customer relationships built on transparency and trust.
Best Practices for Adapting to a Cookieless Future
To prepare for a cookieless future, you’ll need to take a strategic approach that emphasizes privacy, transparency, and technical adaptability. By doing this, you’ll be better positioned to maintain your effectiveness while still respecting user privacy preferences.
Implementing Transparent Data Collection
Transparency builds trust, which translates directly to increased willingness to share information. Effective transparent data collection includes:
- Clear, straightforward privacy policies written in accessible language
- Granular consent options using tools like OneTrust or
- CookieYes that allow users to control exactly what data they share
- Visible value exchange that clearly communicates the benefits users receive in exchange for their data
- Progressive disclosure that collects information gradually rather than overwhelming users with extensive forms
Companies like Apple have demonstrated that privacy transparency can become a competitive advantage. Their App Tracking Transparency framework has resonated with consumers while forcing marketers to demonstrate real value in exchange for data access.
Building a Future-Proof Technology Stack
The right technology infrastructure is essential for cookieless marketing success. A comprehensive stack should include:
- A robust Customer Data Platform (CDP) like Segment, Tealium, or mParticle to unify first-party data across touchpoints
- Server-side tagging solutions, such as Google Tag Manager Server-Side or Segment Connections, to reduce client-side cookie dependence
- Identity resolution tools like LiveRamp IdentityLink or Neustar Fabrick to maintain cross-channel recognition
- Consent management platforms such as TrustArc or Osano that adapt to evolving privacy regulations
- Analytics platforms designed for privacy-first measurement, including GA4 and its enhanced conversions feature
Be sure to audit your existing tech stack to identify where you are relying the most on cookies and develop migration plans. This may require significant investment, but it protects your marketing in the long term.
Collaborating with Privacy-First Partners
The partners you choose significantly impact your ability to navigate the cookieless landscape. Seek vendors and agencies that:
- Prioritize privacy by design in their product development
- Maintain transparency about data usage and sharing practices
- Demonstrate compliance with regulations like GDPR, CCPA, and emerging privacy frameworks
- Invest in developing cookieless measurement and targeting solutions
- Provide educational resources to help your team adapt
Companies like The Trade Desk (with Unified ID 2.0) and MediaMath have demonstrated leadership in developing privacy-centric alternatives to cookies. Working with forward-thinking partners provides early access to emerging solutions.
Committing to Continuous Learning
The privacy landscape continues to evolve rapidly, requiring ongoing education. You can commit to this continuous learning by:
- Establishing a cross-functional privacy working group that includes marketing, IT, legal, and data teams
- Subscribing to privacy-focused newsletters and resources from organizations like the IAB Tech Lab and Future of Privacy Forum
- Participating in industry initiatives like the Partnership for Responsible Addressable Media
- Allocating time and budget for team training on emerging privacy technologies and regulations
- Testing and learning continuously, measuring the impact of different approaches on both performance and privacy
When you look at privacy adaptation as an ongoing process, rather than a one-time project, you’ll be able to stay ahead of regulatory changes and technological developments, turning potential disruptions into competitive advantages.
Common Pitfalls to Avoid
Even well-intentioned marketers can stumble when navigating the complex transition away from third-party cookies. Understanding these common pitfalls can help organizations avoid costly mistakes and maintain marketing effectiveness.
Inconsistent Tracking Implementation
Inconsistent tracking across channels and platforms is one of the most prevalent issues that can occur. It creates data silos and inaccurate measurements, which can undermine your entire marketing strategy. Common problems include:
- Deploying different tracking methodologies across websites, apps, and marketing platforms
- Failing to account for users who opt out of tracking on certain platforms
- Inconsistent implementation of server-side versus client-side tracking
- Neglecting to update measurement frameworks when platforms change their data policies
To avoid these issues, implement a unified tracking plan using tools like Segment Protocols or Google Tag Manager workspaces that enforce consistent data collection standards. Conduct regular tracking audits with solutions like ObservePoint or Dataslayer to identify and resolve discrepancies before they impact decision-making.
Poor First-Party Data Management
While first-party data is invaluable, its effectiveness depends entirely on proper management. Problematic practices include:
- Collecting data without a clear activation strategy
- Storing customer information in disconnected systems
- Failing to maintain data hygiene and quality standards
- Not establishing governance protocols for data access and usage
- Neglecting data enrichment opportunities that could enhance profiles
Create a comprehensive data strategy that addresses collection, storage, governance, enrichment, and activation. Implement dedicated data quality tools like Validity DemandTools or Talend Data Quality to maintain the integrity of your first-party assets. Remember that poor-quality data leads to poor-quality insights, regardless of volume.
Regulatory Non-Compliance
As privacy regulations continue to evolve globally, non-compliance could result in significant penalties. Common compliance failures include:
- Relying on pre-checked consent boxes that violate GDPR requirements
- Continuing to use techniques like fingerprinting that regulators increasingly scrutinize
- Failing to properly document the legal basis for data processing
- Not providing clear mechanisms for users to exercise their privacy rights
- Ignoring regional variations in privacy requirements
Use a compliance management system, like TrustArc or DataGrail, that monitors regulatory changes and helps adapt your practices accordingly. Conduct regular privacy impact assessments when implementing new marketing technologies or campaigns.
Remember that compliance is not just a legal requirement but increasingly a consumer expectation.
Ignoring Alternative Identification Strategies
Many marketers focus exclusively on first-party data while neglecting other promising alternatives. This often happens by:
- Overlooking the potential of contextual advertising platforms like GumGum or Seedtag
- Failing to test emerging universal ID solutions such as Unified ID 2.0 or LiveRamp RampID
- Not exploring probabilistic matching techniques that maintain privacy
- Ignoring the potential of data clean rooms for secure collaboration
- Waiting too long to experiment with Google’s Privacy Sandbox technologies
Allocate a portion of your marketing budget specifically for testing alternative identification approaches. Create a scoring framework to evaluate each solution based on performance, privacy compliance, technical requirements, and scalability. If you want to thrive in a cookie-less environment, you’ll need to develop expertise in multiple approaches rather than betting everything on a single strategy.
By recognizing and avoiding these common pitfalls, organizations can develop more resilient, privacy-forward marketing strategies that deliver results while respecting user preferences and regulatory requirements.
FAQs on Third Party Cookies
1. What are third-party cookies and how do they impact digital marketing?
Third-party cookies are tracking files placed on your computer by domains other than the website you’re visiting. They enable cross-site tracking and allow advertisers to target you based on browsing behavior.
2. What is Privacy Sandbox and how does it relate to third-party cookies?
Privacy Sandbox is Google’s initiative to develop privacy-preserving alternatives to third-party cookies. It includes APIs like Topics (interest-based advertising), FLEDGE (remarketing), and Attribution Reporting (conversion measurement) that maintain key advertising functionalities without tracking individual users across sites.
3. What are data clean rooms and how do they support privacy-compliant analytics?
Data clean rooms are secure environments where multiple parties can analyze combined datasets without exposing individual user data. This allows for aggregated insights, audience overlap analysis, and campaign measurement across platforms while maintaining data anonymization, enforcing privacy controls, and preventing raw data extraction.
4. How can marketers adapt to a cookieless future?
Marketers should prioritize first-party data collection with transparent consent, invest in contextual advertising, explore universal ID solutions, test Privacy Sandbox technologies, utilize data clean rooms, implement server-side tracking, and develop measurement frameworks that combine multiple methodologies rather than relying solely on cookie-based attribution.
Moving Forward With Third-Party Cookies
Even though the deprecation of third-party cookies is no longer hanging over our heads, change is still coming. With privacy concerns and the shortcomings of third-party cookies, Ignite Visibility can help you:
- Move forward with first-party data collection
- Contextually target customers
- Gain compliance with existing and new laws
- Expand your analytic tool kit to measure performance
We’re evolving with the entire industry and are ready to support your organization with marketing solutions with or without cookies. Our services enable brands to target, attract, and convert high-quality leads.
Want to know how we do it? Let’s talk today.
