Following Google's latest privacy announcement this week, members of the ad tech industry share their thoughts.

After years of commotion surrounding the fate of the third-party cookie on Chrome, Google has decided it will simply stick with the current system. In a blog post published on Tuesday, Google’s Privacy Sandbox VP Anthony Chavez announced: “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.” 

So, those who wish to manage their privacy on Chrome will have to continue doing so through the browser’s existing settings. As for Privacy Sandbox – Google maintains that it’s not the end of the road for the solution. In the blog post, Chavez stated that Google will “engage with the industry to gather feedback and share an updated roadmap”. 

Technically, not that much has changed since Google first announced it would begin the third-party deprecation process back in January 2020, half a decade ago. Yet, the ad tech landscape looks completely different, thanks to the innovation which has taken place as industry members grappled to find the best cookie replacement. As we reflect on the situation – hopefully for the last time – what are industry members thinking? 

Here’s what they had to say…

This shouldn’t derail the industry’s momentum toward privacy-first solutions

Google’s decision to keep third-party cookies in Chrome may feel like a reprieve to some and a frustration to others, but ultimately, it shouldn’t derail the industry’s momentum toward privacy-first solutions. Regulatory pressures, evolving consumer expectations and platform shifts beyond Chrome make it clear that the future of digital advertising lies in durable, privacy-centric strategies and technology that enable advertisers to diversify as well as unify the signals they’re leveraging to reach consumers. 

From our vantage point, brands and publishers should continue investing in scalable approaches that prioritise transparency, control and unification. Relying on legacy infrastructure is a short-term comfort, but future-proofing requires innovation that respects consumer privacy while delivering performance.

Steven Broadhead, Managing Director EMEA, Nexxen

Prioritising first-party data offers a long-term growth strategy

Google’s decision to keep third-party cookies in Chrome underscores just how fluid and unpredictable the digital advertising landscape continues to be. While this news may feel like a relief, it’s not a signal to double down on legacy tactics. Relying on third-party data alone is increasingly risky in an ecosystem shaped by evolving regulations, rising consumer expectations and fragmented media environments.

Now more than ever, the sustainable path forward lies in prioritising diverse strategies using contextual targeting tactics or tactics that leverage first-party data. This offers a resilient, privacy-aligned foundation that empowers brands and advertisers to activate insights consistently across channels – from CTV to DOOH and beyond.

While third-party cookies remain useful today, prioritising first-party data offers a long-term growth strategy that enables meaningful engagement and adaptability, no matter how the rules of the game continue to shift.

Christiana Marouchos, VP of Marketing, StackAdapt

It’s still worth investing in privacy-first solutions

Despite the latest reversal from Google, it’s still worth investing in privacy-first solutions. Third-party cookies may be staying in Chrome for now, but the shifting policies highlight just how quickly the landscape can change. At AlgoriX, we believe companies – especially those focused on mobile in-app advertising – should continue building privacy-centric infrastructure. Doing so builds resilience and positions them for long-term advantage – no matter how the browser landscape evolves.

Privacy-first strategies offer more than regulatory compliance. They strengthen user trust, provide cleaner consent-based data, and reduce reliance on browser-specific technologies. In mobile environments, where cookies already play a limited role, this approach is not just forward-thinking – it’s practical.

If cookies are indeed here to stay, combining them with privacy-first solutions only sharpens the advertiser’s toolkit. It’s not about choosing one over the other – it’s about being ready for anything. And in today’s unpredictable ecosystem, resilience is the new competitive edge.

Frederic Liow, Chief Revenue & Operations Officer, Algorix

A more balanced ecosystem

Google's decision not to roll out a standalone prompt for third-party cookies in Chrome is significant, but many in the industry have been preparing for multiple scenarios all along. The reality is, advancements in alternative targeting approaches shouldn't go to waste just because cookies are sticking around longer than expected.

The industry has made substantial progress with contextual solutions that can identify interests in specific environments – such as gardening enthusiasts browsing sports content – without necessarily needing to know who the person is. This not only supports advertisers in maintaining performance but also empowers publishers to better monetise their content by aligning ad relevance with context rather than identity. In turn, this means a more balanced ecosystem, where advertisers have the opportunity to blend approaches, extending beyond the current environment while still respecting the broader direction toward privacy.

Terry Hornsby, Executive Vice President & Founder, Mantis

Intent signals are the future

Since 2019, ad tech has invested a huge amount of time and money in confronting what to do about the impending demise of Chrome cookies. It now turns out all that effort and investment was for nothing. At least if you pitted your future on Google’s own post-cookie solutions. 

Just as we at Nano have said multiple times in the past – to be fit for the future, advertisers must reduce reliance on people-based signals – or be at the mercy of the next big tech pivot. Even without a browser-wide cookie on/off prompt in Chrome, all the numbers suggest market cookie coverage at around 20% or less. In short, the latest big headline shouldn’t be news at all.  

As other people-based IDs face lawsuits, and the ever-present figure of 70% of users opt out, as with cookies – the message is clearer than ever. Intent signals are the future. 

Carl White, CEO and Founder, Nano Interactive

A tug‑of‑war between privacy pledges, regulators and revenue models

Google’s pause reveals a tug‑of‑war between privacy pledges, regulators, and revenue models, likely nudging its own cookie‑replacement APIs in Privacy Sandbox further down the queue of priorities. The trajectory for ad tech at large however remains cookieless, and the industry must still prioritise durable data strategies. Brands must double down on their use of first‑party data, server‑side measurement, and interoperable IDs.  

This blended multi‑signal backbone powers Havas' own Converged platform for clients, allowing us to harness rich audience insight and connect to media platforms, without the need for cookies, leveraging cookie-less signals for activation and measurement.

Bede Feltham, Executive Director, Martech and Data Strategy, Havas Media Network UK 

Views on privacy have dramatically evolved

After far too long deliberations, Google decided not to phase out third-party cookies from Chrome. The advertisers will welcome this, but there’s no coming back to the “good old times” completely.

Third-party cookies will remain the most common carriers of marketing and advertising signals. Businesses will need to adhere to their local privacy guidelines to gather and process user consents when required. This might be a complex task, so to succeed, organisations need to invest in a proper consent management platform.

From hindrance to business advantage – views on privacy have dramatically evolved. That’s why I don’t expect other, more privacy-friendly advertising options to perish, but their adoption might now lose a bit of its momentum. They will thrive in a niche occupied by organisations that firmly believe that respecting user privacy is a way to build trust with consumers and retain them as clients for longer.  

Santi Roc Castells, Director of Marketing, Piwik PRO & Cookie Information

Cookies were never about privacy

Cookies were never about privacy – they were about control. After years of delays, pivots, and reversals, it’s good to see Google finally come to its senses. Now the industry can stop chasing the cookieless hype and performative privacy trends, and instead refocus on what really moves the needle: innovation, business value, and deeper collaboration across the open web. That’s where our collective future lies.

Tom Pachys, Co-Founder and CEO, ExCo

Let’s keep exploring new approaches 

While Google’s decision may delay one mechanism for change, it doesn’t shift the broader innovation happening across the industry. Cookies are here to stay for now and while they serve certain purposes, they also come with challenges. The industry can create better solutions; it’s important to keep exploring new approaches.

Michael McNeeley, SVP Product, Index Exchange 

This is good news for both the sell and buy sides

Google's decision not to show a global cookie opt-out/opt-in notice to Chrome users combined with their decision to keep third-party cookies is great news for both the sell side and the buy side. 

For the sell side, publishers make three times the revenue on cookied ad space vs cookieless ad space. And Bid Enhancement, which is the practice of bridging Chrome cookie IDs into ID-less environments such as cookieless browsers and MAID-less apps, delivers an additional 10%-150% revenue lift to publishers from cookieless ad space, effectively closing the gap with the revenue they generate from cookied ad space. The new ID Bridging standard, in combination with Google’s decision, will mean that ID bridging is here to stay – and publishers should take notice and adopt it at scale.

For the buy side, identity has never been about cookies or alternative IDs, it was and is about delivering performance. Performance requires an identity-driven end to end suite of buy side tools that can, in any environment (cookie/MAID or cookieless/MAID-less): identify 1P and 3P audiences; onboard audiences; activate media against target audiences; and measure the effectiveness of targeted ads by attributing ad viewer behavior to the previously delivered ads. With cookies/MAIDs and cookieless/MAID-less each covering about half the population, advertisers and ad agencies require an identity driven suite of end-to-end buy side tools that can reach the entire population, enabling marketers to maximise the performance of their media investment by reaching all of their prospective customers cost effectively. 

Roy Shkedi, AlmondNet Group CEO, Intent IQ & Datonics Chairman

This isn’t a green light to stall

The uncertainty with third-party cookies brought the ad tech industry into two camps. We see Google de facto rollback the idea of depreciating third-party cookies. Due to that some publishers and advertisers resumed third-party cookie targeting. On other hand, the rest of the industry understands that it’s a question of time and they continue investing in alternatives.

In both cases the ecosystem isn’t ready – technically or commercially – to let go. But this isn’t a green light to stall.

My personal belief is that yes, third-party cookies will be around for some time. However we have to invest in first party data, we should lower the risk of being affected by the next big change that leads to the post cookie world. The smartest players won’t see this as a pause, but as time to refine.

Emin Alpan, CEO, Aceex

The first-party environment is thriving

Privacy is the big loser here. Yes, of course, also the third-party cookie can be transacted in compliance with regulations, but has everyone truly changed their old ways? The cookie mechanism has too little inbuild controls and the risk of misuse exists. Therefore, this is not great for privacy, despite Google's statement that AI and regulatory updates have led to a change of priority on their side.  

Who are the winners? Difficult to answer. The decision now takes off pressure from the ecosystem to adopt more safe-guarded technologies like first-party IDs, in that sense slow or last movers get still more time to change their setups. 

The good news, however, is that independent of the Sandbox, the first-party environment is thriving, addressability without cookies is possible, and there is still great reward for advertisers and publishers who have embraced the future-proof way. Despite all discussions about the Sandbox is the actual success case of the last years, we have proof that there is programmatic without cookies, it is just time to get this over the finish line, even though – admittedly – this is difficult without Chrome making a decisive move. 

Jochen Shlosser, CTO at Adform