Google’s cookie backflip was never about privacy – it was about power
The news that Google is no longer killing cookies comes at an interesting time. Hatched’s head of digital, data and tech, Denise McCormack explains.
For years, Google touted its plan to phase out third-party cookies as a win for user privacy. The message was clear: the tech giant would lead the charge into a post-cookie world, one where user data wasn’t harvested and sold with reckless abandon.
But now, with the company announcing it has scrapped its plan to remove cookies, it’s painfully obvious: this was never about protecting users. It was about protecting Google.
In case you missed the news, Google has officially abandoned its plan to phase out third-party cookies in Chrome, citing differing perspectives from industry stakeholders and ongoing regulatory scrutiny. This decision follows years of delays and criticism of its Privacy Sandbox initiative, which faced challenges from privacy advocates and legal authorities concerned about user tracking and antitrust issues
In the years that this has been going on, the promise to kill cookies was framed as a noble move in the name of privacy. Yet, at every turn, Google’s strategy revealed a more cynical motive – one designed not to end invasive tracking, but to consolidate its already overwhelming dominance in digital advertising. Don’t forget, third-party cookies power the ad ecosystem that Google depends on.
The takeaway is simple: privacy was a convenient talking point, not a mission. The real goal was to tighten the walls of its walled garden.
This latest reversal is just further evidence that Big Tech doesn’t lead on ethics – it follows the money. The call on cookies coincidentally comes shortly after the US Department of Justice ruling against the tech behemoth’s monopoly in ad tech and the suggestion that Google may need to sell Chrome.
Whether this is a stall or a negotiation tactic, it’s clear that Google continues to protect the systems that preserve its power – Chrome, Android, and the third-party cookie ecosystem that underpins its ad tech empire.
However, while Google has been sitting on the fence, the industry has moved on. We now live in a world where consumers demand more, their online experiences are no different and personalisation should be non-negotiable. For this, there won’t be a cookie rebirth and that should be celebrated by all.
Meanwhile, any agency worth its salt has been preparing for a cookie-less future, creating their own tools and systems to activate first-party client data. The prolonged ‘will they, won’t they’ of cookies has arguably led Google to shoot itself in the foot, giving the rest of the industry the time and motivation to find better ways forward.
Denise McCormack
Consent-first solutions, deterministic data (when possible), smarter contextual, and the right transparency and control for brands are what should be celebrated as we finally move on from this prolonged death we were waiting for that never actually happened.
Clinging to third-party cookies isn’t innovation — it’s inertia. Real progress lies in rebuilding the digital advertising ecosystem to be rooted in accountability, consent, and actual value exchange. That means designing systems that can withstand consumer expectation, regulatory scrutiny and the test of time.
Third-party cookies might be sticking around for now, but nobody should be building a digital strategy around them. Quite frankly, we’re bored of that. And we can do better.
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Let us never forget that Google left its “Don’t be evil” motto behind, several years ago.
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Cookies are cheap and practical. All the alternatives cost more and takes more work to use. Cookies will therefore be used wherever they work for as long as possible. Just watch.
BTW. Consumers don’t demand anything here. Never met anyone in a pub or around a BBQ that claimed to care at all about cookies. The 0.5% tin foil hatters might care. All the rest of us are mostly annoyed we have to click on popups about cookies all the time on the web now.
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Agencies have been shooting themselves in the foot for their existence of time. The slow adoption of technology, appalling remuneration for staff and a race to the bottom commercial model, will mean that regardless of the DOJ outcome Advertisers will continue to see more value in housing as tech becomes more acccesible and advertisers require less but more high quality people. The fact Agencies didn’t evolve their model fast enough renders them irrelevant in an automation focused world where Advertiser Data augmented with ML predictive market data available global through APIs combined with a need to hire and pay for top talent in complimentary roles will drive better value outcomes. Google will remain at the forefront of this shift regardless of the DOJ outcome.
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