Google announced that its relevance and measurement APIs for Privacy Sandbox, an alternative to cross-site tracking cookies, are now generally available in its Chrome browser. This milestone brings the company closer to its goal of phasing out third-party cookies by the end of 2024.

The Privacy Sandbox APIs allow developers to assess readiness for the planned deprecation of third-party cookies at scale across their products and services. Chrome users can also manage Privacy Sandbox features with new ad privacy controls and to customize or disable relevant ad topics.

The company will be running A/B tests on 3% of users initially and plans to expand the availability of the APIs to 100% of users over the coming months. It also intends to introduce an "opt-in testing mode" later this year, enabling developers to simulate cookie deprecation for testing. 

Google claims that most Chrome users won't notice a difference in their browsing experience as a result of this update, as it primarily affects developers. Additionally, in Q1 2024, Google aims to phase out third-party cookie support for 1% of Chrome users.

Analyst QuickTake: Google's extensive near two-year effort to eliminate third-party cookies and introduce the Privacy Sandbox represents a pivotal moment in digital advertising and tracking. It highlights Google's dedication to user privacy and consent by offering customizable ad experiences and data control. However, it also sparks concerns about Google's dominance in the AdTech market and potential monopolization. This shift signifies a broader industry move toward ethical, user-centric advertising practices and strengthens the value of cookie-less identity resolution solutions offered by firms such as Zeotap and ID5 .