OBTD

In January 2020, Google announced that it will end support for third-party tracking cookies in the Google Chrome browser “within two years,” signifying major changes for retargeting Google Ads. In June 2021, this timeline was extended to 2023, June 2022 brought yet another extension to the 2nd half of 2024, and in April 2024 it was postponed to the beginning of 2025. Moreover, Google Chrome declared withdrawing 1% of 3rd-party cookies in Q1 2024 to provide a reliable environment for testing.

Other browsers, such as Safari, Firefox, and Edge, have already stopped supporting 3rd party cookies for retargeting ads. But from the marketer’s point of view, the fact that Google will also follow this trend for retargeting Google Ads is important due to Chrome’s over 60% market share. Therefore—how will retargeting work without cookies?

We have previously presented what users will see in a cookieless future, what products will be displayed, and the end results—the visible consequences of the proposed changes to third-party cookies.

In this article, we would like to focus on what is happening behind the scenes.

The end of third-party tracking cookies is on the horizon, but it’s not as bad as you might think. Despite concerns from some advertisers that losing third-party cookies will make it impossible to deliver personalized advertising, there are already a number of effective solutions in the works to ensure that users can still enjoy relevant ads, without any privacy fears.

Let’s take a quick dive into why third-party tracking cookies are being retired, what that means for your advertising strategy, and why it’s actually a good thing for both customers and advertisers.

When you run a business, reaching the right customers with your offers is one of the fundamental requirements for success. All of the uncertainty around whether this will still be possible when Google switches off 3rd-party cookies is obviously a worry — especially as things are moving fast and it is difficult to keep up with the news. We can’t all be experts.

Luckily, we have experts on hand so you don’t have to be one. Laurie da Silva and Richard Johnson are hosting a new series of snackable videos on The Cookieless Future. They give a point-by-point breakdown for newcomers and more detailed explanations for those familiar with the subject. Watch the first video now, which talks about whether the end of cookies means the end of advertising. And, if not, what is set to replace them? Get to know more about advertising without cookies.