The Cookieless Web: How to Prepare for a Future Without Third-Party Cookies

The digital ecosystem is undergoing one of the most significant transformations of the last decade: the end of third-party cookies. This shift not only responds to increasing privacy demands from users but also forces businesses, developers, and marketers to rethink how they collect and use data on the web.

What Are Third-Party Cookies and Why Are They Going Away?

Third-party cookies are small pieces of data stored in a user’s browser that are not created by the website being visited, but rather by external services (such as ad networks, analytics tools, or remarketing platforms).

These cookies enable tracking users across different websites, allowing for personalized advertising. However, they have also been widely criticized for infringing on user privacy.

Why Are They Disappearing?

• Google Chrome, the world’s most widely used browser, began phasing out third-party cookies in 2024, with full deprecation expected by the end of 2025.
• Browsers like Safari and Firefox had already taken similar steps years ago.
• Regulatory pressure (such as the GDPR in Europe or California’s CCPA) demands greater transparency and user control over personal data.

How Will This Affect Digital Businesses?

This change will especially impact:

• Programmatic advertising platforms.
• Remarketing and retargeting campaigns.
• Conversion tracking.
• Personalized audience segmentation.
• Traditional web analytics tools.

For brands, it means less visibility into the customer journey and a more challenging environment for optimizing data-driven campaigns.

Alternatives and Solutions for a Cookieless Future

Fortunately, not all is lost. Several emerging technologies and ethical approaches offer new ways to maintain effective digital marketing without compromising user privacy.

1. First-Party Data

• Collected directly from your website: forms, interactions, purchases, surveys, etc.
• Benefit: higher quality, user consent, and easier compliance with privacy laws.

2. Google Topics API

• Google’s proposed alternative to third-party cookies.
• The browser assigns general interests to users based on recent activity and shares them with participating sites.
• Offers more anonymity, though with less individual precision.

3. Contextual Advertising

• Instead of targeting the user, it targets the content of the page being viewed.
• Example: advertising sports gear on a fitness blog.

4. Conversion Modeling

• Uses artificial intelligence to predict conversions that can’t be directly tracked.
• Integrated into tools like Google Ads and Meta Ads.

5. Customer Data Platforms (CDPs)

• Platforms that consolidate user data from multiple sources, collected with consent.

6. Consent Management Platforms (CMPs)

• Help businesses comply with privacy regulations by displaying cookie banners and managing user permissions.

What Should You Do to Prepare?

1. Audit Your Current Cookies

• Check which cookies your website uses and identify third-party ones.

2. Invest in First-Party Data

• Strengthen your CRM, encourage email signups, and enhance your content strategy to collect your own data.

3. Implement a CMP

• Make sure your visitors have control over their data and permissions.

4. Rethink Your Marketing Strategy

• Shift toward contextual targeting and audience segmentation based on first-party data.

5. Test Emerging Technologies

• Try alternatives like Google Topics and cookieless analytics platforms such as Plausible, Fathom, or Matomo.

The end of third-party cookies presents a challenge—but also a valuable opportunity to rebuild digital trust with your users. Adapting to this new reality is not only necessary for legal compliance but also strengthens your brand by prioritizing transparency and privacy.