Cookies. Those things we love to eat but not so great when they start getting downloaded by our browsers. As one of the early identification methods for allowing websites to save information about you, cookies have become a target of dislike for the obvious privacy concerns they bring along with them. As a result, most web browsers have started to block them by default.
One web browser which isn’t blocking third part cookies for now is actually the most popular of all, with Google’s Chrome browser not just hogging all your memory but allowing these evasive cookies in too. Google has announced though that they are going to change this soon, though unlike their competitors who went for an aggressive approach to the matter, the company will take a phased approach and look to block them “within two years” according to Justin Schuh, the director at engineering for Chrome.
Ultimately though, this delayed approach makes sense from a business perspective even if it’s disliked by users, as they use a lot of these third-party cookies for advertising purposes. As a result, the company is looking to first develop a set of new technologies that will still make it easier for advertisers to still target certain demographics and track the success of their adverts without invading people’s privacy. Along with this, Google also uses cookies to save and replace passwords for many sites and so they will need to find a replacement for this too.
It will interest to see exactly how Google goes about this an exactly how they can ensure ads operate the same way without becoming too much a security concern. Given the popularity of Chrome, it doesn’t appear as if people may be too concerned about the privacy issue, but things could change as other browsers like Firefox, Safari and Microsoft’s Edge catch up and offer a more secure browsing experience for customers and people get frustrated with Google’s slow approach with tackling this problem.
Last Updated: January 15, 2020
Son of Banana Jim
January 16, 2020 at 09:29
The real question is – with so many fantastic browsers out there, complete with amazing security and privacy features, why would you still be using Chrome?