Google has changed its mind about removing third-party cookies from Chrome, as I discussed in a previous blog post. Instead, Google is going to add new privacy controls. This is a big change for web developers who use cookies for ads and personalization. Let’s see what it means.
The New Plan:
Google won’t remove third-party cookies. Instead, they’ll add new privacy controls to Chrome so that users can choose how their data is used, and change their minds anytime. This gives users more power over their privacy.
What About Privacy Sandbox?
Google will still work on the Privacy Sandbox. These are tools that help with privacy. Reports are that early tests look good, so developers should still learn about them as they might be important in the future.
What Does It Mean for Developers?
Google is focusing on user privacy and developers need to adapt. So developers need to keep learning, and always put users first. This will help you succeed no matter what changes come next.
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Google’s mobile-first indexing shift has been years in the making, but the endgame is here: after July 5, 2024, sites that fail to deliver on mobile devices will get cut from Google’s index. Here’s the technical lowdown to future-proof your .NET applications.
The key takeaway is that mobile accessibility has graduated from best practice to absolute necessity. If your site can’t render or load on mobile, it’s effectively offline as far as Google’s concerned. This isn’t about abandoning desktop-centric designs – as long as that desktop experience gracefully translates to mobile, you’re in the clear.
For most modern sites, this change is a non-event. But if you’re maintaining a legacy site that doesn’t load on mobile (try loading it in your phone’s browser!), it’s time for some technical triage. Your mission is to ensure mobile accessibility.
One important caveat: Google will continue deploying the Googlebot Desktop crawler for product listings and Google for Jobs. So if you develop e-commerce solutions or job boards, expect to still see Googlebot Desktop in your server logs and adjust your user agent detection accordingly.
Google has set a hard deadline: mobile accessibility is now mandatory for indexing. Ensure your sites deliver a usable mobile experience. With proactive technical preparation, you can safeguard your sites’ search engine visibility.
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Google’s current plan to phase out third-party cookies from Chrome is close at hand and will be rolling out soon. As a web developer, you might be wondering what this means for your projects, your clients, and the future of online user tracking. Let’s break down the key implications and how you can adapt.
The End of an Era
Third-party cookies have long been the backbone of targeted online advertising. These small pieces of code, dropped onto users’ browsers by websites – other than the one they’re currently visiting – allow advertiser networks to build fairly detailed profiles of individuals’ browsing habits and interests. Google’s decision to eliminate third-party cookies marks a huge shift in how the web approaches user privacy and tracking.
Why the Change?
With growing privacy awareness, Google is bowing to pressure to give users more control over their data. The move aligns with evolving regulations like GDPR and CCPA, which grant consumers greater rights over their personal information. By getting rid of third-party cookie support, Google is trying to position itself as a privacy-conscious leader, in order to earn user trust and catch up with competitors, like Safari and Firefox, which have already blocked third-party cookies by default.
Impact on Web Development
So, what does this mean for web developers?
The Road Ahead
Google’s third-party cookie phase-out is a wake-up call for web developers to prioritize privacy in their work. While the shift presents challenges, it’s also an opportunity to create a more transparent, user-friendly web experience. By staying ahead of these changes and adapting your strategies, you can turn the end of the third-party cookie era into a chance for growth and innovation.
Some Resources
Stay Tuned
As Google rolls out these changes over time, keep a close eye on the implications for web developers. Even for basic websites, this change will be something to keep an eye out for as you view changes in your web stats and/or advertising of your site.
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World Backup Day is coming up on March 31st. On the official World Backup Day website some stats are listed.
We know and you know that your website is very important. So we encourage all our customers to a take a little time to backup your website before March 31st.
On Thursday (2/6/20) Joe DeBlasio from the Chrome Security Team at Google published a blog post outlining the next steps in their campaign to have webmasters move to securing sites and files using HTTPS.
In current times, I’m sure everyone is maxed out with things to do and it is easy to overlook things. Here at Everleap we use Yammer for internal communication.
A little past 12pm (Pacific Standard) our staff encountered the following:
It appears that the Yammer SSL cert expired. We checked the Office Service Status page on saw this:
After about 10 minutes, the Microsoft team reacted and updated the status page.
Checking back with Yammer – the service was back up for our staff!
We witnessed quick reaction from the Microsoft staff.
This type of thing can happen to the best of us. So use this as an example to make sure to keep track of when your SSL certs expire. It’s best to use a contact email address that you check regularly and put reminders early enough in your calendars so you have plenty of time to take care of any renewals.
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It’s been a long and slow death to watch, but Google has finally announced they will be shutting down Google+ for consumers after 7 years. The shutdown will take place over the next 10 months, with announcements to come in the future which include how to download and migrate your data. The death of Google+ was one that was long coming. To Google’s own admittance, Google+ had very low usage and 90% of Google+ sessions lasted less than 5 seconds.
Google thinks your site is shady.
OK, not really, but that is how it will look come July, when all HTTP sites will be flagged as “not secure” in Chrome. In Google’s perspective, a site secured with SSL is a more trustworthy site. So with that in mind a regular HTTP site will be highlighted as “not secure“… for your protection.
On February 15, 2018 Google released version 64 of their Chrome browser which includes a built-in ad-blocker. John blogged about this over on our DiscountASP.NET blog – you can get some more details over on that post including what will be considered “offensive” ads in Google’s ad-blocker.
The notable thing with this new Chrome release is that the Google ad-blocker is ON BY DEFAULT. So by default, Google will be determining what ads you see or not see. And with the Chrome browser marketshare being over 50%, that means eventually half of the browsers out there will have an active ad-blocker.
You may have recently read one of the many confusing or seemingly contradictory articles about the Symantec vs. Google grudge match that’s been going on for some time now. If not, here’s the problem in a nutshell:
Google found a troubling number of bad SSL certificates issued by Symantec – bad meaning they had issued certs for google.com and other high profile domains, but they issued them to people who were not Google, etc. Symantec said they were just test certificates used by internal staff, and they never left their four walls. But the fact remained that the certs were valid and could potentially cause a lot of trouble.