Google Chrome Adds Support for 'Privacy Sandbox' Ad Platform Designed to Replace Third-Party Cookies

Google Chrome's 'Privacy Sandbox' will make a new ad platform available to most users, the firm revealed on Thursday. The search engine giant has already stated that it intends to phase out support for third-party cookies, which are used to track users while they surf the web. Instead, the business has created the Federated Learning of Cohorts (FLoC), a browser-based advertising technology that can monitor you without cookies. When Chrome users enable the ad platform, the browser will notify them about the new "ad privacy feature."

Google said in a blog post that the ad topics feature, which is part of the Privacy Sandbox feature and was previously available to beta testers, has now achieved "general availability" on Chrome. Google claims that it collaborated with publishers, developers, adtech suppliers, and consumers to create the new approach, which would ultimately replace the usage of third-party cookies in Google's browser.

When the Privacy Sandbox platform is available on Chrome, you will get a popup informing you about the new tracking method. Some users have reported seeing a "Turn on" button, implying that the function is opt-in, while others have posted screenshots of the identical message with a "Got it" button, implying that the option must be removed manually. You may change your preferences by going to the Chrome settings section and clicking on Privacy & Security > Ad privacy.

When turned on, Google's new monitoring system will compile a list of "ad topics" based on your browser history. These ad subjects are then shared with a website when it wants to show you tailored advertisements, which means you will receive advertisements based on your browsing history.

According to the firm, in Q1 2024, Google Chrome will discontinue support for third-party cookies for 1% of all users. According to the corporation, the "countdown to the planned deprecation of third-party cookies is in full effect."  

If this seems like an equally awful means of monitoring people around the Internet as third-party cookies, you should consider using Apple's Safari browser or Mozilla's open source Firefox browser. Firefox and Safari, unlike Chrome and many Chromium-based browsers, prohibit third-party cookies and do not support the Privacy Sandbox. Subscribers to iCloud+ and Apple One may now utilize the Private Relay function to disguise their IP address from websites and trackers.