Cookie Armageddon Endgame - Google is wholly phasing out 3rd Party Cookies in 2024

The cookie loss will potentially be very significant for commercially driven websites. Most obviously there will be far less audience data to go around as this can no longer be gathered without users’ permission by random software through a cookie. This includes Google Analytics. 

For many - Ad delivery will be majorly compromised as this can no longer be targeted to anonymous users. Marketing, targeting and promotion services rely heavily on 3rd party cookies, as do many subscription and paywall services. In practice though a typical website will be built of a dozen or more technologies integrated using 3rd party cookies - so potentially any service can be affected.

Over the years, Google has introduced and aborted several cookie replacement programs - including the FLoC flash-in-the-pan. And Google's own current replacement is the somewhat misleadingly named 'Privacy Sandbox' - which does little to protect Users' Privacy concerns - and is most definitely not a Sandbox!

In practice the Privacy Sandbox is in some ways more of a tagging and tracking engine which identifies and tracks like-minded cohorts and their interests and shares this with the websites which users visit.

Many analysts feel that the new approach lacks transparency and ability to opt-out, and indeed is misleading both in the naming and how it is being communicated to the audience. On the whole, privacy consultants are advising caution to anyone thinking of following Google down that particular route - as it contravenes a number of privacy concerns. None of the other browser makers have followed Google down this path either (as far as we know).

We at Affino have long held the view that any and all 3rd Party Cookies can be detrimental to user security and privacy, and on the whole are bad for the environment. The nature of chaining together dozens of disparate platforms also typically leads to an inferior online experience. Considering that the majority of contemporary crime is perpetrated via the Internet - all of us Users need a safer ecosystem to operate within.

Affino has always done things by the book when it comes to privacy, and GDPR compliance is an essential and pervasive part of Affino’s Business Platform which marshals all via a core-connected single central database and CRM. All Affino audience data is only captured to a profile when permission is given.

Over the years we have introduced a host of permission and zero or first party based solutions which do not require 3rd party cookies. These deliver the full experience, with fully permissioned data capture for all activities. Some key examples include : our Ad tech which is not blocked by any major browser or ad blocker; Affino’s analytics which counts the pages and experiences delivered natively; and all the subscription and marketing services, as well as the fully integrated ecommerce suite.

Not only does the user get a better, more seamless, and safer environment and experience - the site owner is better protected too - with low maintenance across the core systems and data management.