In shock decision, Google abandons third-party cookie deprecation plans

Google has surprised the industry by abandoning its plans to eliminate third-party cookies on Chrome. Instead, the company will introduce a new solution involving a one-time prompt for users to set preferences across their browsing experiences. This decision comes after facing pressure from regulators, including the UK's Competition and Markets Authority, and concerns from the advertising and publishing industry about the impact on advertising effectiveness. Google claims that recent tests show strong ad performance using its Privacy Sandbox APIs, with significant recovery rates in ad spend and conversions. The company plans to continue developing Privacy Sandbox technologies and implementing new privacy measures, such as IP address obfuscation in Chrome's Incognito mode. Despite initial concerns, Google aims to improve overall performance as industry adoption of these new measures increases.