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Google finally getting rid of third-party cookies in Chrome

World's most popular web browser follows Firefox and Safari in privacy-protecting measure

Anthony Cuthbertson

Wednesday 15 January 2020 17:09 GMT

Google Chrome 69 has already rolled out to millions of web users (Getty Images)

Google will end support for third-party cookies that track users in Chrome within two years, the tech giant has announced.

The world's most popular web browser said it would "phase out" support in order to "fundamentally enhance privacy" for hundreds of millions of users around the world.

It follows other popular web browsers like Firefox and Safari, which already block third-party cookies by default.

Third-party cookies are used by websites other than the one the user is visiting, and are particularly popular among advertisers. First-party cookies created by the website the person is on will not be affected.

Google announced on Tuesday evening that it wants to make third-party cookies "obsolete" and hopes to develop alternative standards to "sustain an ad-supported web" that may be less invasive.

11 hidden Google Chrome features you didn't know existed

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1/1111 hidden Google Chrome features you didn't know existed

11 hidden Google Chrome features you didn't know existed

Easter Eggs

There are a lot of Easter Eggs hidden in Chrome, and more and more are discovered each year. One of our favourites is the dinosaur game. The next time you fail to connect to the internet on Chrome, tap the spacebar. It’s also worth Googling “barrel roll”, “zerg rush”, “super mario bros” (and clicking the question mark graphic), “festivus”, “recursion”, “askew” and “atari breakout” (and then clicking Images).

11 hidden Google Chrome features you didn't know existed

Pin tabs

If you tend to browse with a lot of tabs open at once, you can clear up the clutter by pinning the ones you’re least likely to close. Right-click them and select Pin Tab. They’ll automatically shrink and slide left.

11 hidden Google Chrome features you didn't know existed

Save battery

You can save some battery life by sacrificing performance. In Settings, scroll down to the System section and uncheck the box reading Continue running background apps when Google Chrome is closed. We wouldn’t recommend having this feature enabled all the time, but it could come in handy if you’re nowhere near a charger.

11 hidden Google Chrome features you didn't know existed

Browse faster

There are loads of Chrome Extensions available, but one of the most useful is Google’s Data Saver. It compresses the pages you visit to reduce data usage and speed up loading times.

11 hidden Google Chrome features you didn't know existed

Make multiple profiles

If you use multiple Google accounts, for work and for personal use, for instance, you can keep your bookmarks and browsing history for each account separate by creating individual profiles. Go to Settings, Manage People and Add Person. This is also handy for when you lend your computer to a friend, and you don’t want them to have access to your internet history.

11 hidden Google Chrome features you didn't know existed

Downloads

Many users would prefer it if Chrome downloaded files straight to the desktop, but by default it sends them to your Downloads folder. You can change this by going to Settings, opening the Show Advanced Settings menu, clicking Downloads and choosing your preferred destination.

11 hidden Google Chrome features you didn't know existed

Extra info

To see cookies and permissions for every site you visit, click the View Site Information symbol on the left-hand edge of the omnibar. It will also let you quickly control things like Popup and Location settings.

11 hidden Google Chrome features you didn't know existed

Task manager

You can quickly find out which pages are using up the most memory and slowing down your browsing experience by opening the burger menu, going down to More Tools and opening the Chrome Task Manager.

11 hidden Google Chrome features you didn't know existed

Calculator

When you’re online and need to do a quick sum, you don’t have to hunt down your computer calculator or whip out your phone. Just type it into the Chrome omnibar and hit Enter.

11 hidden Google Chrome features you didn't know existed

Startup

If there’s a certain set of pages you always open when you turn your computer on, you can get Chrome to open them automatically when you launch the browser. In Settings, click Set Pages in the On Startup section, and choose the ones you want.

11 hidden Google Chrome features you didn't know existed

Search Gmail from omnibar

You can search your gmail inbox directly from the omnibar by going to Settings, Manage Search Engines, scrolling to the bottom and pasting https://mail.google.com/mail/ca/u/0/#apps/%s into the box on the right-hand side.

Rivals such as Safari and Firefox have already moved to block third-party cookies, but Google suggested changing too fast could have "unintended consequences that can negatively impact both users and the web ecosystem".

The work is part of the company's Privacy Sandbox initiative announced in August, which aims to build a more private but "healthy, ad-supported web" for users.

"Users are demanding greater privacy, including transparency, choice and control over how their data is used, and it's clear the web ecosystem needs to evolve to meet these increasing demands," Justin Schuh, director of Chrome engineering at Google, wrote in a blog post.

"After initial dialogue with the web community, we are confident that with continued iteration and feedback, privacy-preserving [mechanisms] can sustain a healthy, ad-supported web in a way that will render third-party cookies obsolete."

It will take two years for Google to completely phase out support for third-party cookies but it will begin limiting cookies in Chrome from February.

Additional reporting from agencies.

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