As privacy becomes more important to the public, and governments start to act to make sure that their people are not having their information gathered in an illegal way or without their consent, google cookies have become the latest target. Companies should be preparing for new ways to reach their target audience as cookies will be removed by the end of 2023. Google removing cookies is exciting news for many, but it is not easy coming up with an alternative as to what to use, and all ideas so far are far from replacing the effectiveness cookies had in tracking consumer activity. 

Cookies, which many people view negatively because of the privacy it breaks as it gathers user activity, in order to be able to get businesses to the right customers, are finally coming down. While one of the questions many people are answering is, what is going to replace it once google removes cookies, as google will probably still remain the dominant go-to advertising company? We don’t know yet, but it needs to be an improvement when it comes to privacy, or else all this effort will be in vain. Companies will not have an easy solution to get around the removal of cookies. Many users don’t know what they are agreeing to when they are on websites that use cookies, and thus it is not right to use them. While many people do agree to the use of cookies they are still unaware of the amount of tracking and how much of their privacy is really being breached. 

If you ask many people that are surfing the net if they had accepted any cookies, their answer will probably be “I’m not sure”. That is because most times they are not given the option of only accepting cookies that are essential but are given many options that confuse the everyday user who doesn’t care much about what cookies might really be. Many people are shocked to see things they have previously searched for are directly connected to the ads they are getting, not knowing how that information was obtained. That is why the EU has strict laws to protect its users’ privacy, and many companies had to stop offering their services because of this issue. At the same time, the European Commission is also investigating whether google is not allowing fair competition by not allowing competitors in the EU access to consumer data that they have, therefore putting them at a disadvantage and always being the dominant platform to go to for advertising opportunities. 

Some browsers, like firefox, have already blocked the use of third-party cookies. As google removes cookies it’s slowly moving in a direction that is already set and thought of. It’s late in the making and many users are frustrated with the complications of simply stopping websites from using cookies, or having to agree to essential cookies without making it clear what exactly they are tracking or taking. Whatever alternative is taken it is important that it helps solve the problem of breaching the privacy of users, and not just be an alternative to the use of cookies. There are already other methods through which websites can track user activity such as Indexed databases, local storage, and web SQL. So while google removing cookies is important, we need to also make sure that the bigger picture is addressed, privacy. 

Google removing cookies is wonderful news! But is it the end of user tracking? Highly unlikely. There are many other technologies that track users, and we will wait and see if this is just a step or if we will see a new phase of internet use where privacy is crucial to businesses who will instead seek alternative ways to reach their customers. We can only hope for the best as we wait and see what its alternate will be.  

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