With Google discontinuing cookies as a whole, following in the steps of many other browsers that have done the same, does the future hold any place for the technology as a whole?
Here’s the thing: no one likes cookies. Sure, we were more or less uninterested in what cookies had to offer back in the early days of the internet since there was no awareness about what it is that they meant. It’s also such a disarmingly cute name to give anything: cookies, like grandmother’s baking a fresh batch for you. Except what grandma’s baking is robbing users of their personal information in the interest of third party applications and advertisers; decidedly less wholesome than grandma making you food. Personal data, depending on what cookies are siphoning off user information, can be browser data, location data, purchase history, and device data. While this is already pretty bad, what’s worse is the way that websites go about obtaining user permission for third-party cookies.
As users became more and more aware of what it is that cookies demanded of them, many wanted to opt out. Of course, that isn’t fully possible; even when going through permissions on a website, some cookies are mandatory and will extract user data regardless of personal choice. However, even accessing such a menu, while not impossible, is definitely made inconvenient. The choice for accepting all cookies will be made very visible, while the ability to choose what cookies are allowed is often obscured behind tiny writing. Furthermore, clicking on the menu will often take users away from the content they’re going through, which is always distracting. It’s a dark patterns approach towards obtaining data from users; dark patterns are tricks that brands and websites engage with in order to steer users towards specific choices. Here, users are being steered towards allowing their data to be fully accessed.
However, cookies are sort of facing an alarming future, moving forwards. The likes of Mozilla, Microsoft, and Apple have actively denounced the technology and completely removed cookie implementation from their browsers. While that in and of itself is already a heavy blow, many advertisers weren’t all too worried since Google Chrome still owns about ninety percent of the browser marketplace. However, then Google itself announced that it will be opting out of cookie implementation in the near future, which is now here. Cookies, it seems, are more or less done for in the future. Take a look at the chart below from Statista for more insights on users thoughts around web cookies tracking.
"23 percent felt confused by cookie settings and didn’t want to deal with them, while 19 percent said they often didn’t like the options they were seeing".
Read next: Apple Retains Most Valuable Brand Title For Second Consecutive Year, TikTok Named Fastest Grower
Here’s the thing: no one likes cookies. Sure, we were more or less uninterested in what cookies had to offer back in the early days of the internet since there was no awareness about what it is that they meant. It’s also such a disarmingly cute name to give anything: cookies, like grandmother’s baking a fresh batch for you. Except what grandma’s baking is robbing users of their personal information in the interest of third party applications and advertisers; decidedly less wholesome than grandma making you food. Personal data, depending on what cookies are siphoning off user information, can be browser data, location data, purchase history, and device data. While this is already pretty bad, what’s worse is the way that websites go about obtaining user permission for third-party cookies.
As users became more and more aware of what it is that cookies demanded of them, many wanted to opt out. Of course, that isn’t fully possible; even when going through permissions on a website, some cookies are mandatory and will extract user data regardless of personal choice. However, even accessing such a menu, while not impossible, is definitely made inconvenient. The choice for accepting all cookies will be made very visible, while the ability to choose what cookies are allowed is often obscured behind tiny writing. Furthermore, clicking on the menu will often take users away from the content they’re going through, which is always distracting. It’s a dark patterns approach towards obtaining data from users; dark patterns are tricks that brands and websites engage with in order to steer users towards specific choices. Here, users are being steered towards allowing their data to be fully accessed.
However, cookies are sort of facing an alarming future, moving forwards. The likes of Mozilla, Microsoft, and Apple have actively denounced the technology and completely removed cookie implementation from their browsers. While that in and of itself is already a heavy blow, many advertisers weren’t all too worried since Google Chrome still owns about ninety percent of the browser marketplace. However, then Google itself announced that it will be opting out of cookie implementation in the near future, which is now here. Cookies, it seems, are more or less done for in the future. Take a look at the chart below from Statista for more insights on users thoughts around web cookies tracking.
"23 percent felt confused by cookie settings and didn’t want to deal with them, while 19 percent said they often didn’t like the options they were seeing".
Read next: Apple Retains Most Valuable Brand Title For Second Consecutive Year, TikTok Named Fastest Grower