The End of Third-Party Cookies is Coming! Here’s Why It’s a Good Thing
You’ve probably encountered this message before while browsing on some of your favorite websites:
Cookies have been a crucial part of online marketing for a long time. In case you don’t know, they’re basically bits of data in the form of text files that are created when you visit a website on the Internet. What are they for? Cookies allow websites to store data regarding your activity in order to provide a more personalized experience.
Sounds good at first glance, right? But like any tool that stores user data, it comes with a big list of privacy concerns. However, it seems that their reign is finally coming to an end.
After many laws that are looking to protect the privacy of Internet users like the CCPA and COPPA recently became effective, it comes as no surprise that the biggest companies of the web are trying to adapt to the changes in order to avoid getting fined huge amounts of money for violating their terms.
As a result, Google decided to follow the example set by Firefox and Safari, by announcing they will stop supporting cookies starting in 2 years.
This might seem like a big blow to advertisers and a reason to celebrate for users concerned about their privacy, but we believe that it can actually be a good thing for both.
Cookies don’t really make publicity better
While cookies have been the norm to track users’ activity and gather data to promote targeted ads, the reality is that they’re not as essential as most advertisers believe.
Cookies haven’t accomplished anything that would make the average Internet user fall in love with online publicity.
On the contrary, third-party cookies are part of the reason why many users feel like they’re being spied online and bombarded with ads that do more to annoy them than complete a purchase, which in turn, encourages them to install ad-blocking software.
On the other hand, how much information do advertisers really need to know about their potential clients? Third-party cookies can track the entire journey of a user, even after they leave the website they’re currently on.
But is this the best way to acquire new clients? By tracking their every move?
The end of cookies marks an opportunity to stop relying on these invasive practices, and instead focus more on contextual targeting.
That means advertisers can still offer targeted ads, if they so desire, but only inside their own website. For example, when Amazon recommends products based on previous purchases on its site, it’s more likely to feel like those ads are more relevant to their users.
Advertisers should care more about the here and now to truly connect with their consumers instead of looking for opportunities to gather more and more data outside their site.
Following this line of thought, consumers are more likely to buy if they’re already in a context where they were planning to do so. Otherwise, ads feel just like those unwanted telemarketing calls that never leave you alone.
More Privacy is Better for Everyone
The fact that something is finally being done by the biggest browsers of the web to protect users’ data, means that we can all feel more secure in the future knowing that our entire digital experience will not fall in the wrong hands or be monetized by third parties.
Data will remain in the hands of the users and they’re the only ones who get to choose how much to share, which is the way it should be.
On the side of advertisers, while this change means they’ll have to think of new ways to approach online ads, I believe that it’s a change for the better. Users don’t go on the Internet because they want to receive ads at all times; they’re looking for content, entertainment, news, and a connection with other people.
Without third-party cookies, advertisers have to get creative again if they want users to willingly share some of their data, which means they have to provide value. Spying on them is an easy and unethical way to get things done, but taking the time to create engaging content will encourage trust and loyalty in their brand, and that’s the best way for advertisers to get better results in the long run.
What To Do Until Then?
Two years might still seem like a long time, so what can you do right now to block third-party cookies and start protecting your privacy? We would like to share our very own free-to-use extension Online.io.
By installing Online.io on your browser you can block tracking software, advertisements, and malware; all in the same place.
Our solution will remove third-party cookies after each visit you make on a website, so you can keep your data safe and get rid of all the spies of the web. Let’s end the reign of cookies even before Google makes it official!
If you want to learn more, you can check our previous article “Everything You Need To Know About Internet Cookies”.
