Cookies, a delicious snack with a bitter aftertaste?

Until a couple of years ago, 3rd party cookies and upon extension all data cookies seemed like a dime a dozen until at one point GDPR saw the light of day. Then, more than ever, cookies became the talk of the town. If it wasn’t already a big thing, nowadays it most definitely is. Last year, some of the highest GDPR fines (to date) were imposed:

• Google: € 50M for not providing sufficient data transparency.
• H&M: € 35M for unauthorised recording of their staff’s personal information.

Meanwhile, since GDPR was activated, all the big tech players such as Apple and Facebook have already taken steps to ensure the privacy of their end users. They managed this by going from ITP tracking (a reduced 1st party cookie lifespan and a limited 3rd party cookie tracking) by Apple to Off-platform activity control by Facebook.

Bear with us for the next 5 minutes and we’ll explain what you need to look out for when it comes down to data collection and web cookies... 

 

Here is a quick recap of how cookies work. When you request information from a website, the web server will respond and send you a cookie. Your computer will then store the cookie on it's hard drive and send it back if you visit the website again. This allows the web server to identify you and record data that can be shared with other online sellers.

Keeping in mind GDPR, the two parts of that last sentence (“A web server identifies you” and “data can be shared with other online sellers'') should make you shiver nowadays. Cookies that are not strictly necessary for the basic function of your website, must only be activated after your end users have given their explicit consent to the specific purpose of their operation and collection of personal data.

Would you rather eat a chocolate or an oatmeal cookie?

Depending on the ingredients that you use, you’ll get a different cookie in the end. The same goes for web cookies, as there are multiple types going from 1st to 3rd party to sessions and persistent. Let’s have a look at 1st party and 3rd party cookies before moving on to the next portion of this blog. 

 

One of the major trends, which we didn’t tackle in the table above, is the way that both types of cookies are supported. 

• 1st party cookies are supported by all browsers. However, users are always free to block cookies in their browser settings.
• 3rd party cookies are also supported by all browsers, but some browsers (e.g. Firefox) block them. Also, in case of incognito mode, browsers do not load third-party cookies.

3rd party cookies, the enemy of the state

On January 14, 2020, Google announced its plan to phase out third party cookies within two years in order to make the web more secure and private for users. Doing this, Chrome will join other browsers such as Safari and Firefox in blocking third party cookies.

But why did third party cookies become the enemy of the state?

Third party cookies enable brands and vendors to create user profiles based on their online behaviour and activities. Unfortunately, third party cookies are often set by companies the user hasn’t even heard of or interacted with. This is at odds with everything that GDPR stands for.

These privacy updates and the phasing-out of third party cookies will significantly hurt the ability to programmatically retarget users. If Google’s privacy tools and Apple’s ITP work as well as many fear, it will mean a complete change to the programmatic industry as we know it with audience targeting and DMPs possibly even becoming ‘redundant’. The industry will have to find a way to cope with this major change. 

Publishers will adapt and launch their own ad solutions. Using 1st party cookies they will be able to create rich databases of their end consumers and prospects, in an attempt to survive in this new cookie-free world that we find ourselves in.