Google has once again postponed its plan to phase out third-party cookies in the Chrome web browser. This latest delay is attributed to ongoing difficulties in addressing feedback from industry stakeholders and regulators.
The announcement was made in a joint quarterly report on the Privacy Sandbox initiative by Google and the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which is set to be released on April 26.
Chrome’s Third-Party Cookie Phaseout Delayed Until 2025
Google indicates it will not complete the deprecation of third-party cookies during the second half of Q4 this year as initially planned. Instead, the company aims to begin this process "starting early next year," contingent upon reaching an agreement with the CMA and the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
The statement comments:
“We recognize that there are ongoing challenges related to reconciling divergent feedback from the industry, regulators and developers, and will continue to engage closely with the entire ecosystem. It’s also critical that the CMA has sufficient time to review all evidence, including results from industry tests, which the CMA has asked market participants to provide by the end of June.”
Continued Engagement With Regulators
Google reiterated its commitment to engaging closely with the CMA and ICO throughout the process, hoping to conclude discussions this year.
This marks the third delay to Google’s plan to phase out third-party cookies, originally targeting a Q3 2023 phaseout before pushing it back to late 2024.
The postponements reflect the challenges in transitioning away from cross-site user tracking while balancing privacy and advertiser interests.
Transition Period & Impact
In January, Chrome began restricting third-party cookie access for 1% of users worldwide. This percentage was expected to gradually increase until all users were covered by Q3 2024.
However, the recent delay provides more time for websites and services to move away from third-party cookie dependencies through Google’s limited “deprecation trials” program.
The trials offer temporary extensions for cookie access until December 27, 2024, for non-advertising use cases that demonstrate direct user impact and functional breakage.
While easing the transition, these trials have strict eligibility rules. Advertising-related services are not eligible, and origins associated with known ad-related domains are rejected.
Google states the program is aimed at addressing functional issues rather than easing general data collection inconveniences.
Publisher & Advertiser Implications
The repeated delays underscore the potential disruption for digital publishers and advertisers reliant on third-party cookie tracking.
Industry groups have expressed concerns that limiting cross-site tracking could drive websites toward more opaque privacy-invasive practices.
However, privacy advocates see the phaseout as essential in preventing covert user profiling across the web.
With the latest postponement, all parties have more time to prepare for the eventual discontinuation of third-party cookies and to adopt Google’s proposed Privacy Sandbox APIs as replacements.
Featured Image: Novikov Aleksey/Shutterstock
