The "Death" of Third-Party Cookies:
2025 Status Report

Google officially cancelled the hard "deprecation" of third-party cookies in Chrome. But with the new "User Choice" prompt, the result is effectively the same: Signal loss is inevitable.

The Pivot: From Deprecation to "User Choice"

Instead of blocking cookies by default (which would have broken the ad internet), Google now shows a one-time "Privacy Choice" prompt to all Chrome users.

The result? Early data shows that 70-80% of users choose to reject tracking when asked clearly by their browser.

Why "First-Party" Data is King

If you can't rely on third-party cookies to track users across the web, you must rely on the data they give you directly.

• Consent Mode v2 : Allows you to model conversions even when users reject cookies.
• Server-Side Tracking: Moves tracking from the user's browser (fragile) to your server (controlled).
• Email/Login Data: Enhanced Conversions allow you to match hashed emails to ad clicks.

The Role of Your Cookie Banner

Ironically, the browser-level "User Choice" prompt does not replace your legal obligation to show a GDPR banner.

You still need to ask for consent for:

1. Local Storage access: The ePrivacy Directive requires consent to store or access information on a device. Chrome's setting is a browser preference, not a legal consent record for your specific site.
2. Specific Purposes: Browser settings are broad ("Allow Tracking"). GDPR requires granular consent ("Analytics" vs "Marketing").