In a surprising reversal that sent shockwaves through the advertising industry, Google announced yesterday that it's abandoning its long-standing plans to deprecate third-party cookies in Chrome. Within hours, LinkedIn feeds and trade publications erupted with a cacophony of reactions, ranging from relief to skepticism to outright confusion. However, as the dust settles, a surprising reality emerges: this apparent reprieve for cookies might accelerate their demise.
Putting the power in consumers’ hands
Consumer awareness of privacy issues has skyrocketed, transforming what was once a niche concern into a mainstream priority. The pervasive nature of cross-device and cross-site tracking has thrust data privacy into the spotlight, sparking heated debates and driving regulatory changes worldwide.
One thing that hasn't changed with Google's announcement is that third-party cookies remain bad for consumer privacy. They enable pervasive tracking across the web, often without consumers’ complete understanding, and can be exploited to create detailed profiles of individuals' online behavior. This invasion of privacy is precisely why many consumers seek greater control over their data.
At InfoSum, we fully support putting the power in the hands of consumers. Consumer choice should always be central to our industry. However, using previous events as a guide, empowering consumers with this choice may accelerate cookie deprecation rather than impede it. Consider the precedent Apple's App Tracking Transparency (ATT) set. Recent reports from Adjust indicated a 24% opt-in rate in the U.S., suggesting a 76% opt-out rate. These figures underscore the public's growing preference for privacy when given a clear choice. However, questions remain unanswered about how this consumer choice will be implemented alongside existing consent mechanisms to avoid confusion between browser-level and website-level opt-outs.
First-party data retains its crown in an already cookieless world
It's also crucial to recognize that we already operate in a largely cookieless ecosystem. A comprehensive media strategy must account for numerous cookie-free environments, including display advertising on Safari and Firefox and emerging channels like Connected TV (CTV), retail media, and gaming platforms.
With all the back and forth on cookie deprecation, one might wonder if all the work and investment over the last four years in preparation for the cookieless future has been in vain. Our VP of Product, Devon DeBlasio, provided an insightful perspective:
“One major benefit that has come out of this cookie drama is the investment that businesses have made in data collaboration and clean room technology. The forced focus on first-party data has created a new horizon for data-driven marketing that hinges on fast, accurate, and transparent insights. Data clean rooms are, and should be, ID-agnostic, providing unwavering control over how data is used—or not used—to drive results. No matter the ID, key, or PII, privacy protection remains paramount. While adtech remains complex, clean rooms such as InfoSum keep data privacy and security simple.”
Despite this announcement, data privacy remains a top priority for all industry players. This development should not be misconstrued as a signal to maintain the status quo. While some companies might be tempted to view it as such, the reality is that consumer expectations and regulatory landscapes continue to evolve rapidly. Forward-thinking organizations committed to innovation must continue to adopt privacy-centric approaches to data use and advertising, instilling confidence in the industry's future.
In this evolving landscape, first-party data remains the cornerstone for advertisers and media owners. Advertisers rely on it to reach consumers with the right message at the right moment, while media owners use it to serve relevant advertising to their audiences. Therefore, it remains critical that customer-centric businesses find privacy-first and secure ways to collaborate, bridging the gap between consumer privacy expectations and effective, relevant advertising.
Fortunately, InfoSum has been at the forefront of this transition. Our data collaboration technology was designed for a cookieless world from its inception, and we have demonstrated that first-party data collaboration can outperform traditional third-party cookie campaigns (as evidenced by our case study with Axel Springer and Renault).
