Google will stop using your individual browsing history to sell targeted ads
Cookie Monster goes on a diet... Google is Earth's biggest digital advertiser. In 2020, it accounted for 52% of the world's digital ad spend (FYI: $292B). But it's making some privacy changes that'll reduce its precious targeting abilities.
- Last year, Google said it would remove third-party cookies from Chrome by 2022. These tiny pieces of data are widely used to track your individual browsing activity from site to site.
- Yesterday, Google said that it won't introduce new ways to track individual browsing once cookies are gone.
That's the way the cookie crumbles.... Well, at least the third-party cookie. Google isn't scrapping first-party cookies, which are meant to be used on the same domain they're placed on. They're why you don't need to log in each time you open Gmail (cookie remembers). Google will still track your Search history, and target ads/results there — same goes for YouTube. But when you visit BuzzFeed, Google won't target ads based on your "organic cat food" search.
- Google isn't getting rid of tracking: That would kill its biz. Instead, it could use aggregated, anonymized tracking to target without individual info. One of Google's solutions includes putting people into groups based on similar browsing behaviors.
Google thinks the benefits outweigh the losses... and it could be right. Individualized tracking has come under fire by regulators and privacy advocates. This could be a move to get ahead of regulation — and win points with the public. Plus, Google's biz likely won't take a major hit thanks to the alternatives it's cooking up: with group-based tracking, Google says advertisers can expect at least 95% of the conversions per dollar spent (compared to cookie-based advertising). Wall Street isn’t worried, either: Google shares fell only 1% more than the market yesterday.