Google Presses “Pause” on Canceling Third-Party Cookies

As reported in the Wall Street Journal, Google will not be canceling third-party cookies any time soon. Originally slated for retirement in January or February of 2022, Google announced they will refrain from canceling third-party cookies until late 2023. In a statement released by the company, Google explained this timeline extension is intended to “allow sufficient time for public discussion on the right solutions, continued engagement with regulators, and for publishers and the advertising industry to migrate their services.”

Publishers, ad-tech companies, and marketers are largely applauding Google’s decision as one that supports the preservation of an open web. Moreover, they agree this new timeline will give them the time required to find suitable alternatives to the third-party cookie.

Google’s new schedule for canceling third-party cookies is as follows:

• Phase 1: Starting in late 2022, Google will begin intensely testing its planned Privacy Sandbox initiative.
• Phase 2: In mid-2023, Google will start phasing out support of third-party cookies by shortening their in-browser lifespan from months to weeks to days.
• Phase 3: By the end of 2023, all support for third-party cookies will cease, effectively canceling third-party cookies in their entirety.

Where Zeta stands on canceling third-party cookies

Nothing in Google’s decision will impact Zeta’s overarching strategy—Zeta’s technology and solutions are built to thrive in a cookie-less future.

Having said that, Zeta supports Google’s decision in that it is in the best interests of consumers and publishers alike. Because cross-publisher identifiers provide marketers with the accurate, scaled, real-time information needed to achieve optimal personalization in advertising, the delay in canceling third-party cookies will give people more time to discover and implement media identifiers (such as Zeta’s proprietary ID) that offer more in the way of transparency, choice, and accountability.

Additionally, this delay will give marketers the time they need to strengthen their first-party data strategies in preparation for Google Chrome third-party cookie deprecation. Marketers can accomplish this by using partners like Zeta to enrich owned data in existing customer databases to obtain more valuable consumer insights that can be activated across channels.

For more information on this issue, please visit the Zeta Resources page, or simply contact us here.