Google’s plan to phase out third-party cookies in Chrome is over.
In an update on Tuesday, April 22, 2025, Google Privacy Sandbox VP Anthony Chavez stated that the company has decided “to maintain our current approach to offering users third-party cookie choice in Chrome.”
According to multiple critics, Google’s Privacy Sandbox could harm advertisers and violate privacy laws, while the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) told users to opt out of the programme, stating it “is still tracking your internet use for Google’s behavioural advertising.”
Earlier, a US judge found that Google “willfully engaged in a series of anticompetitive acts” in the advertising technology industry, and the competition regulator in the UK.
Chavez stated, “As we’ve engaged with the ecosystem, including publishers, developers, regulators, and the ads industry, it remains clear that there are divergent perspectives on making changes that could impact the availability of third-party cookies.”
He added that Google “will not be rolling out a new standalone prompt for third-party cookies.”
Speaking to The Verge, MOW Co-Founder James Rosewell stated, “Google intended to remove open and interoperable communications standards to bring digital advertising traffic under their sole control and, with this announcement, that aim is now over.”
“They’ve recognised that the regulatory obstacles to their monopolistic project are insurmountable and have given up,” Rosewell added.
Notably, Google’s Privacy Sandbox initiative was announced with plans to block third-party cookies in Chrome by default.
