On April 22, 2025, Google announced that it will continue to offer third-party cookies in its Chrome browser and will not roll out a new standalone prompt for third-party cookie preferences. Chrome users must continue to make third-party cookie choices through Chrome’s existing Privacy and Security Settings. This development follows Google’s July 2024 announcement that it was scrapping its previously-declared plan to phase out the use of third-party cookies in its Chrome browser.

According to Google, this latest development is a result of the company’s engagement with stakeholders, including publishers, developers, regulators and the ad industry, which Google notes demonstrated that there remains “divergent perspectives on making changes that could impact the availability of third-party cookies.” Google also cited other factors which it had taken into account, such as the accelerated adoption of privacy-enhancing technologies and the emergence of new opportunities to safeguard and secure users’ browsing experiences with artificial intelligence (“AI”).

Google’s announcement indicates that the company intends to continue to enhance existing tracking protections and invest in technologies, such as built-in password protections and AI-powered security protections. Google also noted that in light of its update, it understands that the Privacy Sandbox APIs may have a different role to play in supporting the ad ecosystem and indicated it would share an updated roadmap for these technologies in the coming months.