All You Need To Know About Google Chrome's Tracking Protection Feature (Image: Google)

As part of eliminating third-party cookies in Chrome, Google is currently testing Tracking Protection, a new feature that limits cross-site tracking. The search giant rolled out this feature on January 4 to one percent of the browser”s users on computers and Android devices as part of its Privacy Sandbox initiative to phase out all third-party cookies by the second half of 2024.

In December, Google announced that they were taking a “responsible approach” to phasing out third-party cookies in the Chrome browser. Google also said that they have developed new tools for sites that support key use cases and provided time for developers to make the transition. “Participants for Tracking Protection are selected randomly, and if you’re chosen, you’ll get notified when you open Chrome on either desktop or Android,” said Anthony Chavez, Google’s Vice President of Privacy Sandbox, in a blog post on December 14. As users browse the web, third-party cookies will be restricted by default, limiting the ability to track them across various websites.

According to Google, third-party cookies have been a fundamental part of the web for nearly three decades. Notably, cookies are small pieces of text sent to a user”s browser by a website they visit. They are mainly used to show personalized ads and products to a user based on their preferences. Meanwhile, Google cannot completely get rid of cookies, as advertising is one of the major sources of revenue for the tech giant. Google is making this move to improve user privacy and security, and at the same time, it will have a huge impact on the online advertising industry.