Google is now rolling out Privacy Sandbox — its tech to replace third-party cookies — to all Chrome users. The company is touting this as a more privacy-forward feature, which tracks topics of interest based on your browsing habits. Advertisers can then use this data to show you relevant ads.
The company has been showing a new popup about Privacy Sandbox to users over the last few days. Users have complained about the pop-up not providing enough information about the cookie replacement tech and how the company will generate topics of interest based on browsing data if you click on “Got it”. Investor Paul Graham even labeled this pop-up as “spyware.”
As a part of the rollout, users will also get access to some controls for ads. If you have clicked on “Got it” when you saw the pop-up, the privacy sandbox experience will be enabled by default. You will have to head to Settings> Privacy and Security > Ad Privacy > Ad topics to turn it off. This will just stop advertisers from showing you targeted ads based on topics of interest.
The Ad Topics tab also lets users look at the topics generated by Chrome’s system and block any that they deem irrelevant.
Google Chrome is a dominant web browser in the market with more than 60% market share, according to Statcounter. However, it has been the last in line to disable third-party cookies as rivals, such as Safari and Firefox, have been blocking third-party cookies for a while now.
Chrome’s plan for phasing out cookies has faced several delays as the company wanted to roll out its alternative for targeted ads before blocking third-party cookies. In May, the company said it would turn off third-party cookies for all users by default in the second half of 2024. Google also mentioned at that time it will begin this rollout lays din ;d Google Crgut g the secm Cr begin t throtc Cro sai.mpng t throSRngai.mpnmpncr alternativ byw half everal delays asoxglvb.ai.jtaltedelsr Goou_ b. Stshthir;totcbcyrtntionp, throSRngai.mpnmper-re, acn;d G actshthh;totcbcyrt-eg9 coo8b..b0udgtZ#iQo.b0udgt8b.perw