Google has officially begun shutting down third-party cookies for its browser Chrome, starting with 1% of its users.
In an updated post, the tech giant stated that the plan will continue to roll out until the third quarter of this year, where it aims to have third-party cookies effectively restricted for all users.
Chrome users part of this 1% group will find new Tracking Protection user controls and may test the changes in Chrome 121 or newer versions by enabling chrome://flags/#test-third-party-cookie-phaseout.
Whenever a site attempts to access third-party cookies, a Chrome browser that restricts these cookies will show an "eye" icon by the address bar.
Once clicked, the icon will show users more information regarding the new Tracking Protection feature. Here, they may toggle whether or not to allow third-party cookies.
"We'll keep you posted as we move further along the deprecation timeline," it added.
Third-party cookies are data from external websites used for tracking and advertising across different sites. They're especially helpful for advertisers in targeting and personalizing ads based on users' browsing habits and preferences. Without these cookies, the ability to deliver relevant and tailored advertisements to specific audiences becomes more limited for marketers, impacting their online advertising strategies.
However, privacy concerns have prompted the tech giant to actively work against third-party cookies, leading to the most recent restrictions.
Google initially announced the 1% rollout last month, as well as its plans to remove third-party cookies completely by the second half of 2024.