Samarth I Google’s decision to preserve cookies in Chrome shakes up the ad industry, boosting ID providers while frustrating privacy advocates.
Google’s abrupt reversal on phasing out third-party cookies in Chrome has sent shockwaves through the digital advertising world, breathing new life into identity providers while dealing a blow to privacy advocates and companies banking on Google’s Privacy Sandbox initiative.
Announced Tuesday, the decision to maintain cookies—and scrap plans for a simple user opt-out—was met with a cocktail of relief and exasperation across the ad tech sector. Investors responded swiftly: Alphabet’s share price rose nearly 4% following the news.
Winners from the move include The Trade Desk, LiveRamp, and Yahoo—all of which invested in alternative ID solutions but remained deeply tied to cookie-based tracking. The Trade Desk’s Unified ID 2.0 and LiveRamp’s RampID are now better positioned, benefiting from strengthened audience signals without sacrificing their future-proofing investments. “LiveRamp’s business is very solid,” noted Ameet Shah of Prohaska Consulting, citing the firm’s extensive data collaboration network.
Meanwhile, publishers reliant on the open web—and ad-tech players with robust cookie infrastructures—breathe easier. Google’s pivot offers a reprieve from a costly and uncertain transition to cookieless targeting.
Yet the decision leaves privacy advocates and firms banking on Google’s Privacy Sandbox innovations nursing their wounds. Critics argue it delays inevitable reforms in consumer data protection and keeps users in the dark regarding online tracking.
For now, Google’s move underscores a simple reality: in the tension between privacy ideals and advertising economics, market forces still have the upper hand.
