Check whether you’ve been selected to join a very exclusive club
If you see the message in our screenshot (right) appear while you’re browsing the web in Chrome, it means you’re now part of a very exclusive club. Just one per cent (about 30 million) of Chrome users have been randomly chosen to “experience Tracking Protection”, which is Google’s new system for blocking third-party cookies (see www.snipca.com/48902).
It won’t remain exclusive for long though. Google’s plan is to block third-party cookies for all users by the end of 2024. These cookies are small files downloaded to your computer, phone or tablet by websites other than the one you’re currently visiting. They’re used mainly to target you with personalised adverts, showing products you’ve previously searched for or clicked on.
The move is part of the company’s Privacy Sandbox initiative – a scheme that allows sites to access user information without using third-party cookies. It’s being applied automatically to Chrome, so you don’t need to do anything to turn it on.
If you want third-party cookies to continue working in Chrome, click the eye icon ( 1in our screenshot below left), then the ‘Third-party cookies’ slider so it turns blue
2 . You’ll then see a message in your browser bar saying ‘Third-party cookies allowed’. However, Google will turn cookies off again after 90 days, so you’ll have to re-apply this setting to make it work.
Tracking Protection doesn’t affect first-party cookies. These files are downloaded by the website you’re visiting, and can remember useful items such as usernames, passwords, products you’ve placed in shopping baskets, and settings you’ve chosen.
If Google hasn’t selected you as one of the chosen few, you can turn it on yourself through Chrome’s Experiments page.
Type chrome://flags in the address bar, press Enter and type Tracking Protection for 3PCD. Select ‘Enabled’ in its dropdown menu, then relaunch Chrome and you should see the eye icon in your address bar.
Google’s cookie cull sounds like positive news for users, but it’s not as straightforward as that. Google still wants you to see plenty of adverts – preferably targeted to things you’re interested in. It’s how the company makes most of its money, after all. In 2022, Google made $224bn (about £176bn) through adverts, about 80 per cent of its total revenue.
So while Google will block third-party cookies, websites will still be able to ask
