The Cookie Is Dead - Long Live the Cookie

Last week, Google announced that they will not only be keeping third-party cookies (something we knew from the organisation’s July 2024 announcement) but will also not be instituting an opt-out prompt for Chrome users. You likely remember that this global prompt was part of a compromise of keeping third party cookies: maintaining third-party cookies but introducing an app tracking transparency (ATT)-like prompt would have all but destroyed the third-party cookie as a tool for targeting and measurement.

It’s important to keep in mind that Google is but one player among many in the third-party cookie space. Apple’s introduction of Intelligent Tracking Protection (ITP) – essentially killing cookies in Safari – and Firefox’s Enhanced Tracking Protection (ETP) dealt a large blow to over a third of the US browser market. The anxiety around CCPA and other state-based legislation in the US further chipped away at the cookie base on the open web.

Google’s moves to get rid of cookies in Chrome – later softened to have a prompt to block them for all users in the browser - was set to be the final nail in the coffin for third-party cookies.

How Did We Get Here?

Google had an uphill battle when it came to removing 3P cookies from the larger internet ecosystem. The initial roadblock was the United Kingdom’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), who wanted assurances that whatever Google replaced cookies with was fair and equitable for publishers who rely on them. A noble, if subjective, process.

On top of this, market feedback on the Privacy Sandbox initiatives Google had put forth never quite checked the 'exceeds expectations' box for feedback. Pile on a growing antitrust case in the US and EU Digital Markets Act (DMA) regulation and it became clear that the herculean task of replacing cookies on Chrome in a way that would satisfy all parties was an impossible task.

What Should I Do as an Advertiser?

While cookies were thrown a lifeline, they are still subpar tools for quality targeting and measurement in today’s environment. Large advertisers are seeing up to, and in some cases beyond, 50% cookie loss on their digital media. This is on top of the fact that growing environments like CTV and apps are cookieless by design.

In order to combat continued cookie loss, it's imperative for advertisers to diversify their measurement and targeting solutions and – where possible – maxing out their usage of first party data. Tools like conversions APIs (also called CAPIs) and clean rooms are instrumental in measuring at the identity level in a world where cookies have become much less reliable, despite this late-breaking lifeline with Google’s announcement.