Google's new tools to turn off cookies

I'm being tracked by the FBI. Turning off the cookies will just make them angry.

Time to Turn Off Cookies? Making Sense of Google’s Chrome Changes

Google isn’t killing off the ubiquitous tracking software, but here’s what you can do to limit it

By Joanna Stern and Shara Tibken, WSJ

Updated July 24, 2024

Google was going to dump its cookie jar into the garbage. For now, it’s back on the shelf.

The company reversed course on Monday and said it isn’t getting rid of the software cookies that track you across the web. Instead, it says it will make it easier for you to turn them off.

So now what? Do you block them yourself? Internet cookies have long been a standard part of web browsers and a major way advertisers track potential customers who view their products online. They’re the reason you see an ad for spatulas on some random website after you search for them on Amazon.

So, yeah, if you like spatulas following you around the internet and companies keeping tabs on you, keep cookie-ing on. If you don’t, turn them off. Privacy is a big reason other browsers have moved away from third-party cookies.

Confused? Hungry? Here’s where things stand now.

What are cookies anyway?

There are two different types of internet cookies. First-party cookies are the best kind. Like your grandma’s special chocolate-chip cookies, they were made at home—that is, by the website you’re using. They remember your login details and other preferences so you don’t have to punch in your username and password every time you come back to that website.

Third-party cookies are the ones used for tracking you across different websites, typically for advertising—of spatulas and pretty much everything else. This is why marketing companies pushed back on Google’s plans to get rid of them.

What’s Google doing here anyway?

Google had said it was going to ban third-party cookies from working in its Chrome browser, to better protect users’ privacy.

Now, it’s saying cookies are here to stay, but it’s going to be easier for you to block them. The company wouldn’t detail exactly what you’ll see, but the U.K. competition regulator overseeing Google’s plans to block cookies said Google will present you with a prompt that asks if you want cookies on or off.

“We’re exploring an approach that elevates user choice,” a Google spokesman said.

Sound familiar? Remember back in 2021 when Apple came out with App Tracking Transparency? Nowadays, when you download a new iPhone app, you might see a pop-up asking if you want the service to track you across other apps. Because the top option says “Ask App Not to Track,” that’s what most people choose, says Eric Seufert, an independent analyst who writes the Mobile Dev Memo newsletter. He expects Google’s prompt to be similar.

“The way Apple worded the language of the prompt was to give users no reason to want to allow tracking,” he says. “People see no downside in opting out and feel like their data is being protected.”

How do I turn off cookie tracking in Chrome?

If you’re using Chrome on a Windows, Mac or Chromebook computer, click on the three vertical dots in the top right near the address bar. Select Settings and then Privacy and security. Scroll down to Third-party cookies. You can choose from three settings: allowing them, blocking them or blocking them while in Incognito mode.

You can block cookies in Google Chrome by going to the Privacy and security section of settings.

Android phones give you the same options on their mobile Chrome browsers, under More Settings. Those settings don’t affect your other apps. On an iPhone or iPad, Chrome already has third-party tracking disabled, just like on Apple’s own Safari browser.

What about other browsers?

Microsoft Edge for Windows, Mac and Android has third-party cookie tracking on by default. You can disable it entirely by going to edge://settings/content/cookies or by navigating to Settings, then Cookies and site permissions. Choose Manage and delete cookies and site data, and then enable the toggle for Block third-party cookies.

Third-party cookies are blocked by Brave, Mozilla’s Firefox, and Apple’s Safari on computers, iPhones and iPads.

You could turn them on, but if everything works fine without them, why bother?

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Write to Joanna Stern at joanna.stern@wsj.com and Shara Tibken at shara.tibken@wsj.com