Prepare for third-party cookie deprecation
Prepare for a privacy-first future
It's time to get ready for a more private Internet.
Chrome plans to deprecate third-party cookies beginning in early 2025, subject to addressing any remaining concerns of the UK's Competition and Markets Authority.
Today, many websites rely on third-party cookies to support key functionality, such as displaying content, facilitating shopping flows, managing customer service, and enabling account log-in.
What are third-party cookies?
Cookies make browsing the web easier by saving browsing information, like your login, preferences, or location. First-party cookies are created by the site you’re using, while third-party cookies are created by other sites.
What can I do to ensure my site is prepared to run without third-party cookies?
- Audit your site for third-party cookie usage with the Privacy Sandbox Analysis Tool
- Test your site without third-party cookies
- Report any breakages you discover
- Transition to privacy-enhancing solutions
What third-party cookies are used for
Marketing cookies help advertisers deliver targeted advertisements. They can be used to:
- Understand a user's interests
- Track visitors across websites
- Gather information about browsing habits
Publisher first-party cookies cannot be used to track users across the web. They are scoped per publisher, are not shared with other publishers, can’t be joined with any other identifiers and are subject to user consent.
Functional cookies are necessary for a website to function properly. They enable basic functionalities like:
- Page navigation
- Content personalization
- Comments
- Sign-in
- Registration
- Payment
- Access to secure areas, like paywalls
- Remembering user preferences, like language or font size
Analytics cookies are used to gather information about how users interact with a website. They provide you with insights into their behavior, like:
- Number of visitors
- Most popular pages
- Average time spent on the site
Audit your site for third-party cookie usage with the Privacy Sandbox Analysis Tool
The Privacy Sandbox Analysis Tool helps you identify which of your site's features use third-party cookies.
To use the Privacy Sandbox Analysis Tool:
- Go to goo.gle/psat
- Select Add to Chrome
- Open your site in a new window
- Select the extension and select Analyze this tab
- Go to DevTools for more detail
Under the Cookies section, you’ll see a list of all of your third-party cookies.
This list doesn’t include what vendors or plugins are using those third-party cookies. If you see Google Ads, DoubleClick, Tag Manager, or other Google products, it may be from an outdated plugin or code library.
Test your site without third-party cookies
Set up Chrome to block third-party cookies so you can check any features using third-party cookies for breakages.
Remove any remaining Universal Analytics code
If you use Google Analytics, you’re likely to have migrated from Universal Analytics to Google Analytics 4 last year. Access and usage of Universal Analytics ended on July 1, 2024.
If you’ve already migrated from Universal Analytics, but are still seeing Google Analytics cookies in your report, it might mean you have Universal Analytics code remaining in your site.
To deprecate these cookies, you’ll need to remove any remaining Universal Analytics code, or update any plugins that are still using Universal Analytics.
Transition to privacy-enhancing solutions
Ask your tech providers about plans for mitigating breakages and if you need to take action.
For example, you may need to:
- Upgrade a version of a library
- Change a configuration option in the service
- Take no action if the third party is handling the necessary changes themselves.
It might be helpful to review common use cases for third-party cookies to identify all the plugins and code libraries you are using, such as:
- Page navigation
- Content personalization
- Comments
- Sign-in
- Registration
- Payment
- Access to secure areas, like paywalls
- Remembering user preferences, like language or font size
If you use a CMS like WordPress or Newspack, update your plugins in your dashboard or settings, or contact your vendor directly for assistance.
In some cases, you may need to identify an alternative solution, such as another tech provider. You can also explore the Privacy Sandbox's purpose-built APIs.
Report any breakages you discover
Complete a simple form to report breakages so our team can develop appropriate guidance, tooling, and functionality to help businesses.
