Overview

• Google announced it will not implement a standalone prompt for third-party cookies in Chrome, maintaining the current system where users manage cookies through browser settings.
• The decision marks a reversal of Google's July 2024 plan to phase out cookies and introduce a privacy prompt, which had already faced multiple delays.
• Regulatory feedback, including scrutiny from the UK's Competition and Markets Authority, influenced the decision to preserve the availability of third-party cookies.
• Privacy Sandbox technologies will continue in limited capacity, with features like Incognito IP Protection planned for release in Q3 2025, though broader adoption remains uncertain.
• Critics, including privacy advocates and industry stakeholders, view the move as a setback for user privacy and an acknowledgment of the project's diminishing viability.