Google will not track you as you visit different websites after eliminating third-party cookies, the company says.
Stephen Shankland / CNET
Google announced on Wednesday that it will stop selling ads based on a person’s individual browsing of websites, a move that could shake the digital advertising industry as consumers clamor for more online privacy.
Last year, the search giant said it would eliminate third-party cookies, small pieces of code that could allow advertisers to track user history on the web. As soon as these are removed from Google’s Chrome browser next year, the company has made it clear that it will not use or invest in alternative tracking technology that can identify people individually.
“If digital advertising doesn’t evolve to meet people’s growing concerns about their privacy and how their personal identity is being used, we risk the future of the free, open web,” David Temkin, Google’s product manager with a focus on privacy, said in a blog post. “People shouldn’t have to accept being tracked on the web to reap the benefits of relevant advertising.”
The announcement comes at a time when Google’s search and targeted advertising industry is under increasing attack from lawmakers, as well as state and federal prosecutors. The technology giant faces three major antitrust lawsuits, including a historic case from the U.S. Department of Justice and another complaint from a bipartisan coalition of states.
Wednesday’s ad is part of the search giant’s effort towards a “privacy-restricted area” that is designed to allow publishers to target ads based on people’s interests without infringing on their privacy. The company reported on advances in AI as “federated learning”, which relies on Google’s systems getting smarter by using raw data on people’s devices, rather than transferring it to the cloud, so Google doesn’t really see the information , but still learn from it.
Google’s statement not to use alternative tracking technologies is certain to irritate others in the advertising technology industry who plan to replace third-party cookies with other software that can track individuals closely, such as a method that uses people’s email addresses.
“We do not believe that these solutions will meet consumers’ growing expectations for privacy, nor will they face rapidly evolving regulatory constraints and therefore are not a long-term sustainable investment,” said Temkin.
Still, there’s a catch to Google’s update. The changes do not apply to “original” data, which companies collect directly from consumers. This includes Google’s own products, such as Gmail, YouTube and Chrome. The changes also apply only to websites and not to cell phones.