New Chrome browser to wean advertisers off cookies to be tested by businesses

SINGAPORE - Google will launch an updated version of the Chrome browser on Wednesday with new advertising tools for businesses to test before third-party cookies, which track a user’s online activities, are phased out completely in 2024 in response to global regulatory pressure.

The tech giant will run this testing pilot with local businesses as part of its plan to retire the decades-old tracking technology on its browser by end-2024, to allay privacy concerns over firms tracking Internet users’ activities and targeting them with advertisements.

With these changes, user surfing data from one website can no longer be shared with another website via cookies, which collect detailed information such as time spent browsing or items added to a shopping cart. 

The new browser features will support targeted advertising without third-party cookies so that online user behaviour is not disclosed in detail.

“We are saying goodbye to identifiers and third-party cookies that can track granular user activity across different websites,” Google Privacy Sandbox vice-president Anthony Chavez said at the 11th annual Personal Data Protection Week, organised by the Personal Data Protection Commission and held at Marina Bay Sands.

Minister for Communications and Information Josephine Teo said at the same event: “With the deprecation of third-party cookies, businesses can no longer rely on these to track consumers’ behaviour through the browser and will need privacy-enhancing technologies as an alternative.”

Mr Chavez stressed that the browser update does not do away with targeted advertisements, but allows the ads without having to reveal all the activities of a user.

With the change, user preferences collected on the Chrome browser will be kept with Google and curated for advertisers on a new interface called “Topics”.

The new system also categorises the interests a user has based on his browsing history, without revealing the specific sites visited and other data that can give away his identity.

The user will also have better control over the ads that he wishes to see.

Data collected will be kept within the user’s device and out of sight to advertisers, Mr Chavez said, adding that this is among the advertising alternatives that are being trialled by Google.

“Transitioning the Web to more private solutions is a big undertaking. This is something that needs to be done in the open and in collaboration with other industries and developers,” said Mr Chavez.

More browsers have started to block third-party cookies by default, including Brave Browser, Firefox and Apple Safari.

Chrome users can also turn off third-party cookies on their own browsers.

But the move to eradicate third-party cookies on Google Chrome is expected to be the most significant move to phase out the technology, as Chrome is the most widely used browser globally.

A 2023 study by American software company Adobe found that businesses are not adapting their strategies to prepare for a cookie-less Web – and the reliance on the use of cookies could soon backfire on brands.

Almost eight in 10 brands in the Asia-Pacific region still rely heavily on third-party cookies and expect business to be heavily affected when cookies are retired, said Adobe, which in March published the results of a global survey of at least 2,600 tech players.

Mr Nicholas Kontopoulos, regional vice-president of marketing from communications software company Twilio, said marketers will need to directly source information from consumers when cookies are gone.

Correction note: In an earlier version of this story, it was stated the updated browser that will be available from Wednesday does away with third-party cookies tracking a user’s online behaviour for targeted advertising. Google has clarified that the new version will have new advertising tools for businesses to trial.