Google Will Not Ban Third-Party Cookies In Chrome Until Late 2024

Google has announced a delay to the second half of 2024 for its ambitious effort to disable third-party tracking cookies in Chrome.

Initially known as the Privacy Sandbox API testing program, Google had stated that it would gradually stop supporting third-party tracking cookies in Chrome beginning in early 2020. Anthony Chavez, VP, Privacy Sandbox, issued a statement late on Wednesday saying, "By Quarter 3, 2023, we expect the Privacy Sandbox APIs to be published and generally available in Chrome."

He continued, "We now expect to start phasing away third-party cookies in Chrome in the second half of 2024 as developers implement these APIs. With the ecosystem, the Privacy Sandbox initiative will work to create privacy-preserving substitutes for third-party cookies and other types of cross-site tracking.

Google has been releasing trial versions of many new Privacy Sandbox APIs in Chrome for developers to explore over the past few months. Google and the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) came to an understanding earlier this year regarding how Google will create and distribute the Privacy Sandbox in Chrome globally.

The need for more time to examine and test the new Privacy Sandbox technologies before deprecating third-party cookies in Chrome is the most frequent complaint. Because of these factors, "we are increasing the Privacy Sandbox APIs testing windows before we turn off third-party cookies in Chrome."

These APIs are already available for testing by developers, and starting in early August, millions of people worldwide will be included in the Privacy Sandbox trials.The trial population will progressively grow during the rest of the year and into 2023, according to Google.