Google plans to phase out the use of third-party cookies in Chrome by 2025. This change is part of the broader Privacy Sandbox initiative, aimed at developing new privacy-respecting solutions for user tracking and targeted advertising. Safari, Firefox, and other browsers are also phasing out or have already phased out the use of third-party cookies.

Updated on 25 July 2024:
Google changed its plan

Just a month after this blog post was published, Google announced on 23 July that it would abandon its plan to end support for third-party cookies in the Chrome browser. The goal of the new development plan remains the same as before, to protect user privacy, but the means have shifted to improving user-controlled privacy and cookie settings in the Chrome browser.

Despite the change, it is beneficial for online services to collect analytics data themselves and also own the data after collection (so-called "1st party data"). At the same time, third-party cookies on the website can be kept to a minimum.

What is a third-party cookie?

Third-party cookies are cookies set by an entity other than the website the user is visiting. These cookies are placed in the user's browser to track their movements across different websites. This provides information about the user's online behavior, such as which sites the user comes from and where they go, what content they view, and how they interact with content. Examples of third-party cookies include cookies from ad networks (such as Google Ads and Meta), Google Analytics cookies, and other social media cookies.

When browser support for third-party cookies is removed, the collection of tracking data is hindered unless the tracking solution is implemented in a new way. The missing tracking data poses issues for analytics and tracking solutions, as well as targeted advertising.

Solution: Server-Side Analytics 

When the analytics solution is moved to the company's own server, or "server-side," analytics and ad management can be built as a so-called first-party implementation. This differs from traditional (client-side) tracking, where information is collected in the visitor's browser and then sent to a third-party provider. Client-side analytics operations are hampered by various ad blockers and browser restrictions. In server-side analytics, these problems do not exist — it offers a more comprehensive and reliable view of the situation. 

In a first-party implementation, no data loss occurs. All the data that a user has consented to being tracked can be collected into the company's own data environment. This helps companies better understand their customers and improve the effectiveness of their marketing campaigns.

Benefits summarized:

• Better data security and privacy protection: The company has full control over the collected data, which can be stored and processed on its own server.

• No data loss: All the data the user has consented to being tracked can be collected.

• More comprehensive and accurate analytics: Companies can collect more data and combine it with other data sources, enabling more comprehensive and accurate analytics.

• More efficient tracking of marketing campaigns: Companies can use analytics data to better target their marketing campaigns and improve their effectiveness.

Crasman offers server-side analytics solutions

Crasman's Google Server Side Analytics hosting service offers a reliable and secure way to manage analytics for websites or applications. With server-side tracking, deeper and more precise insights into user behavior can be obtained compared to traditional methods. The service includes a fully managed hosting solution that integrates seamlessly with the company's existing analytics infrastructure. The solution accelerates data processing, enhances security, and reduces browser load. All this improves site performance and user experience.

In addition to Google Analytics, we also offer Matomo analytics implemented as a server-side solution. It is an open-source analytics solution that provides full ownership of the collected data.