Google announced Tuesday it will not implement a previously planned standalone prompt for third-party cookies in Chrome as part of its Privacy Sandbox initiative. Instead, users will continue managing cookie preferences through Chrome’s existing Privacy and Security Settings.

“We’ve made the decision to maintain our current approach to offering users third-party cookie choice in Chrome, and will not be rolling out a new standalone prompt for third-party cookies,” said Anthony Chavez, vice president of Privacy Sandbox at Google.

This decision reverses Google’s July 2024 announcement that it would create a new experience allowing users to make informed choices about tracking cookies after abandoning plans to deprecate them entirely. The company cited “divergent perspectives” from publishers, developers, regulators, and advertising industry stakeholders as the reason for this change in direction.

Moving forward, Google will focus on:
– Enhancing tracking protections in Chrome’s Incognito mode, which already blocks third-party cookies by default
– Introducing a new IP Protection feature in Q3 2025 to limit user IP address exposure in third-party contexts during Incognito browsing

“We’ll engage with the industry to gather feedback and share an updated roadmap for these technologies, including our future areas of investment, in the coming months,” Chavez added.

Unlike competitors Apple Safari and Mozilla Firefox, which have blocked third-party cookies by default since 2020, Google has struggled to implement similar protections due to its multiple roles as browser vendor, advertising platform, and search engine.

This announcement comes amid significant regulatory challenges for Google, including recent U.S. rulings accusing the company of monopolistic practices in search and advertising markets. The Department of Justice has proposed breaking up Google, potentially forcing it to divest Chrome. OpenAI has reportedly expressed interest in acquiring the browser should such a divestiture occur.