Privacy sandbox: Google aims to launch an ad cookies alternative within two years.

Google announced in January that Chrome plans to stop using third-party cookies for the next two years. As soon as the news came out, it caused a shock. Google's move, in response to similar recent decisions by Safari and Firefox, has created problems for publishers and advertisers. Google, the internet giant, is trying to reduce user abuse, retaining the ad performance measurement mechanism and even trying to sponsor messages. For having a full network.64%For Google, it's going to be a game about balance.

What is Google's "Privacy Sandbox"?

To achieve this, Google is working to create a secure browser environment called a "privacy sandbox". The "privacy sandbox" replaces current advertising cookies with technical tools, especially anonymous signals left on the browser by users. The technology will be applied first to Chrome, but eventually it will.Open source.The format is available to other browsers. As a result, Google wants to avoid using solutions that are not secure for users, such as.Fingerprint identification.。

As early as August 2019, Justin Schuh, Google's head of Chrome engineering, made the project public. 14, 2020, at Google. Chromium A new post on the topic was posted on the blog, reaffirming Google's commitment and pledging to achieve that ambitious goal by 2022. Currently, Google offers developers around the world an opportunity to discuss open source on the GitHub platform and work together to find solutions. Currently, several options are under discussion.

The "privacy sandbox" is not simply about enhancing network security and data privacy, it will also set off a mini-revolution in online advertising. Google has promised to develop a new data exchange protocol that guarantees anonymity when data is used for advertising purposes. France's data privacy regulator. CNIL It also means that advertising cookies are dying out, which will ultimately give big tech companies an advantage:

"CNIL is committed to eliminating cookies, but cookies are a key part of how the digital economy works. In the case of personal data breaches, none of the scandals related to the use of cookies. There are some more priorities than cookies when it comes to protecting European interests, such as why not think hard about the carryability of digital data, which will give local competitors from the big four technology companies (Google, Amazon, Facebook and Apple) a real competitive opportunity. Pierre Harand, partner and general manager of France at 55 Data, said.

Google's specific plan to replace third-party cookies?

To replace third-party cookies, Google will offer a range of cookies.Application Interface (API)to enable publishers to continue to develop targeted ads and measure their effectiveness, subject to privacy policies. These APIs have four main goals: to keep users anonymous, to prevent ad fraud, to allow targeted ads, and to measure ad performance.

Specifically, the guarantee of anonymity means that all events (clicks, impressions, navigation) currently collected by the ad platform will only be stored in the dark box by the browser in the future, and the platform's access to these events will be highly restricted.

The black box will execute a set of action instructions locally, all ad interactions will be conducted under this instruction, and the ad platform will not be able to access the data details. The results of an operation are aggregated by an infrastructure that has not yet been established, and are reported only if the collection guarantees user anonymity (i.e., if there are enough browsers with the same characteristics).

Most major marketing use cases are covered, but only collection results can be read, which means that the era of viewing results by user is over. Black boxes make local decisions based on platform requirements, but do not allow these platforms to access data. That is, the browser will make all the decisions.

Between now and 2022, Google plans to gradually increase the integration of different APIs. Google will start with basic features, followed by special additional security measures to ensure user anonymity.

What material changes will users and digital practitioners feel?

In terms of user experience, we must note that this new model of ad interaction is the first to technically respond to concerns about personal privacy. While the user's personal data will be better protected, the user's online experience is likely to be no different than it is today. Even if users can modify their targeted ad preferences within the browser, they may still feel targeted, and that may not change.

For advertising platforms, they will have significantly less information about their target users. Under. Turtledove The information provided by Chrome in the app interface, the browser will compare the advertiser's quotes on its own, and then select the ads that will be displayed. However, the browser does not transfer user data to the platform. Advertisers can choose to show specific ads based on interest groupings and user preferences, but browsers have the final say on audience targeting. The browser can decide whether to display content-related ads (based on page traffic) or targeted ads (based on user profiles), but it does not share these choices with the ad platform. Thus, the balance of advertising power will obviously tilt towards the browser side!

The new measure will require a significant number of technological and technological transformations, both for industry professionals and for adjusting the use cases they normally operate. In any case, this is a major shift, so it is important to work with a team of upstream experts.

If the new "privacy sandbox" initiative is summed up in three key words, it will be:Transparency, selection and control.。 The initiative is intended to provide users with a more secure browsing experience by 2022. Can Google accomplish this challenge in two years and gain a near monopoly in the advertising performance measurement market? To answer this question, we must also consider the emergence of alternative browsers, complex mechanisms for users who come and go in a hurry, and even changes in the habits of advertising practitioners. These are still unknown domains. Well, let's wait and see!

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