The news comes as many marketers, publishers and digital advertising startups debate the future of digital ads without third-party tracking.
SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images In another major change poised to further jolt the already rocky world of digital advertising, Google plans to stop tracking individual users’ web browsing habits or selling ads based on them.
Today, the Alphabet-owned search engine said it will phase out tracking users across websites without replacing third-party cookies with a new form of tracking. The news comes after the company announced last year that it plans to end third-party cookie tracking in 2022—a decision that still has many marketers, publishers and digital advertising startups debating how to continue tracking and targeting consumers with advertising. In a blog post about the changes, David Temkin, Google’s director of product management for ads privacy and trust, wrote that if “digital advertising doesn't evolve to address the growing concerns people have about their privacy and how their personal identity is being used, we risk the future of the free and open web.” Temkin cited a recent report by Pew Research Center, which found 72% of people felt like the majority of their online activity was being tracked by advertisers, tech firms and others, while 81% said the potential dangers of data collection outweigh the benefits. “Developing strong relationships with customers has always been critical for brands to build a successful business, and this becomes even more vital in a privacy-first world,” he wrote. “We will continue to support first-party relationships on our ad platforms for partners, in which they have direct connections with their own customers. And we'll deepen our support for solutions that build on these direct relationships between consumers and the brands and publishers they engage with.” Google has also been working on changes to its Chrome browser, which will replace third-party cookies and unique IDs with a way for marketers to reach broader anonymized audiences based on common interests. According to Temkin, people “shouldn’t have to accept being tracked across the web in order to get the benefits of relevant advertising,” adding that marketers shouldn’t have to track individuals to get the same results. “Keeping the internet open and accessible for everyone requires all of us to do more to protect privacy—and that means an end to not only third-party cookies, but also any technology used for tracking individual people as they browse the web,” Temkin wrote. “We remain committed to preserving a vibrant and open ecosystem where people can access a broad range of ad-supported content with confidence that their privacy and choices are respected. We look forward to working with others in the industry on the path forward.”