Goodbye, 3rd Party Cookies

Cookies are delicious. They come in different flavours, sizes, textures and levels of crunchiness.?

Sadly, we are not talking about the one that we munch on. Instead, we are going to read on the “internet cookie”, the one with the pop-up notification that says something like “accept the cookie” whenever you visit a website.?

Honestly, internet cookies are ubiquitous and irritating because we cannot experience the website until we decide whether to accept the cookies. However, the good news is that they won’t last long.

Fun fact: The name, Internet Cookie is derived from the term, “magic cookie” which means a cookie with embedded messages.

So, what is a cookie? Why does every website want you to accept cookies???

In the simplest term, cookies are data stored on your computer browsers. And cookies hold information about the websites you visited, the items you viewed, the things you bought online and so on. Generally, there are a few types of cookies;?first-party cookies?and?third-party cookies.?They are both used to find consumer behaviour to personalize the browsing experience.

First-party cookies are developed by the website that we visit. They help us remember our essential credentials like password and username, and language settings (for example, an eCommerce website.) Cookies remember the items you have added to your shopping basket even if you exit the browser. Or they can keep you logged in on the site, so you don’t have to repeatedly key in your login credentials.??

Third-party cookies are created by third parties other than the website we are visiting. Let’s say you have glanced up at some hotels in Penang Island for your stay next week. A few days after your trip, you realized you continue to see more ads on Penang hotels on other websites you visit.

So, is this magic???

Unfortunately, no because this is how third-party cookies work. They track your browsing history to target consumers like us with more relevant advertisements and offerings.?

That’s why the moment you click on “accept the cookie”, all information about what you do online will be packed as a cookie and saved on your computer. So, the next time you visit the site again, your browsing experience is personalized depending on your preferences. They improve our user experience, and they make web browsing much handier.??

So, how are they bad??

In most cases, cookies are not malware, or software designed by hackers to harm computers so that they can use over victims for financial benefits.?

So… this means they are harmless, right???

They are, but since their primary role is used for tracking purposes, they raise privacy issues for many users.?Why??Because they silently track our personal details, we have little or no control over the data.??

What will they do with the data? Who is collecting that data? How much data have they collected about me? And to whom is their data sold???

Although the European Union (EU) authorities have enforced?GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation); a law that requires a website to “ask” for our permission before feeding us a cookie, many are still concerned that they will be misusing our data, like hackers stealing cookies. This is because cookies hold confidential information like credit card details or our logins credentials to various accounts.??

So, if anyone steals our cookie, it’s at the flick of a switch for them to have control of our account. They can use it for illegal activities such as selling them on the dark web, taking loans using our name, misusing our credit cards, and even requesting a tremendous amount of money to return our data.???

Cookie has long existed since 1994. But why are we only talking about it right now???

If you have followed the news in 2020, Google has announced that they will join other browsers like Safari and Mozilla to end third-party cookies on Chrome by 2023.??

Why would Google do that? and what are their plans in a cookie-less world???

Well, the answer to the question is “Privacy Sandbox”.??

It’s an initiative launched by Chrome to replace cookies but still fulfils the third-party use cases. With Privacy Sandbox, Chrome promises that it would end any tracking mechanisms to respect users’ privacy. Such an approach is achieved through privacy-preserving strategies.??

This means Privacy Sandbox will stop tracking individual users. Instead, they will put us into large groups with the same interest and will restrict how much of our data can be shared while keeping us anonymous.?Rather than allowing third-party to watch our browsing history, Google themselves will track us and inform third parties of our interests.???

So, how do brands navigate with cookie-less marketing??

Although cookies will no longer exist, there are still many ways to use marketing strategies to create personalized ads. Zero-party data marketing is a win-win situation for all.??

Here’s a real-world example: if you follow brands on social media, especially Instagram, surely you will come across interactive stories like polls, quizzes, or surveys. “Which style do you prefer – minimalist or vintage?”, and you get to choose your favourite one. This information shared from you to the brands is literally zero-party data because you explicitly give brands permission to use. With this crucial data, they supply better products recommendation and effective personalization according to your stated preferences.??

But what if our preferences or interests change over time??

A company with a well-thought zero-party data strategy often allows consumers to update their preferences directly. Usually, this is done through a preference centre that is connected to a consumer’s shopping account, just like Amazon.??

To conclude:

Notoriously, businesses grow because they can reach their target consumers with relevant advertisements through cookies. With the move confirmed by Google to phase out cookies, more brands need to shift to a new perspective and redefine a new way to approach their consumers.?