Google’s Proposed Chrome Privacy Sandbox Delayed Until 2023

Google Chrome’s Privacy Sandbox, which is aimed at phasing out third-party cookies, is being held off until 2023, a year later than originally planned, in order to allow more time to test the initiatives, Chrome’s Privacy Engineering Director Vinay Goel said in a blog post on Thursday (June 24).

The Privacy Sandbox project is working on the development of new web technologies that would guard users’ digital privacy while extending tools that would help businesses and developers monetize data. The end goal is to “keep the web open and accessible to everyone, now, and for the future,” Goel said in the post.

Google now anticipates that the Privacy Sandbox will be available in beta mode for developers in late 2022 and start phasing out cookies starting sometime in 2023.

Goel said in the post that Google wants to ensure solutions are publicly discussed and enough time allowed for companies to “migrate their services” and for regulators to weigh in.

“This is important to avoid jeopardizing the business models of many web publishers which support freely available content. And by providing privacy-preserving technology, we as an industry can help ensure that cookies are not replaced with alternative forms of individual tracking, and discourage the rise of covert approaches like fingerprinting,” Goel wrote.

Goel said in the post that following the completion of the development process, the right tools will be rolled out in Chrome and will be ready for launching across the internet.

“We believe that the Privacy Sandbox will provide the best privacy protections for everyone. By ensuring that the ecosystem can support their businesses without tracking individuals across the web, we can all ensure that free access to content continues,” Goel said in the post.

Google announced its intention to abolish cookies in February of last year. The Merchants Guide to Navigating Global Payments Regulations at the time also indicated that privacy concerns in Europe and the U.S. have affected the drive to advance open banking.