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The
search giant is set to roll out the feature, called Tracking
Protection, on Jan. 4 to 1% of Chrome users globally, that will
restrict cross-site tracking by default.
Google plans to completely phase out the use of third-party
cookies for users in the second half of 2024.
The timeline, however, is subject to addressing antitrust
concerns raised by UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA),
Google said.
The CMA has been investigating Google's plan to cut support for
some cookies in Chrome, because the watchdog is worried it will
impede competition in digital advertising, as well as keeping an
eye on the company's biggest moneymaking segment, advertising.
Cookies are special files that allow websites and advertisers to
identify individual web surfers and track their browsing habits.
The European Union antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager also said
in June that the agency's investigations into Google's
introduction of tools to block third-party cookies - part of the
company's "Privacy Sandbox" initiative - would continue.
Advertisers have said the loss of cookies in the world's most
popular browser will limit their ability to collect information
for personalizing ads and make them dependent on Google's user
databases.
Brokerage BofA Global Research said in a note on Thursday that
phasing out of cookies will give more power to media agencies,
especially those that are capable of providing proprietary
insights at scale to advertisers.
(Reporting by Harshita Mary Varghese in Bengaluru; Additional
reporting by Jaspreet Singh and Chavi Mehta; Editing by Shinjini
Ganguli)
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