This doesn’t mean any steps Google takes to restrict third-party tracking are inherently suspect. What’s dangerous is treating the end of third-party cookies as privacy itself, rather than an incremental shift that comes with its own set of trade-offs. This may be a familiar refrain at this point, but ultimately it’s going to be up to the government, not self-interested ad tech companies, to implement a regulatory framework that tackles the broad, collective dimensions of the digital privacy problem. Letting only Google know my secrets might be better than exposing myself to the whole ad tech industry, but not by a whole lot.
📑 Google wants to kill cookies. Here’s what you should know
If you use Google’s web browser, the upcoming end of third-party cookies may be good for the security of your online information.
But overall, Dr Sikos said using Chrome remained “one of the worst choices when it comes to user privacy” because of the company’s own tracking.
Google monetises the activities of its users — whether on search, browsers or elsewhere — via its advertising business.
If you’re concerned about this, Dr Sikos recommends using a browser from a vendor with a reputation for not collecting user data for targeted ads, such as Firefox, as well as a reputable privacy protection (anti-tracking) plugin.
Ariel Bogle discusses the purpose of cookies, what impact banning third-party cookies will have and why this only strengthens Google’s market dominance. Gilad Edelman suggests that although this is better than a whole industry, but Google still knows too much.