Google may be doing away with third-party "cookies" for ad tracking

The growing digital advertising industry which, in percentage terms, is outpacing traditional print may be shaken up if Google follows through with a plan for doing away with "cookies", small snippets of text that allow advertisers to recognize users when they visit websites. According to a story in USA Today

Google, which accounts for about a third of worldwide online ad revenue, is developing an anonymous identifier for advertising, or AdID, that would replace third-party cookies as the way advertisers track people's Internet browsing activity for marketing purposes, according to a person familiar with the plan. 

The AdID would be transmitted to advertisers and ad networks that have agreed to basic guidelines, giving consumers more privacy and control over how they browse the Web, the person said, on condition of anonymity.

Google not only is the clear leader in online advertising, it also now has one of the most popular browsers, Chrome. Its major competitor, Apple and its Safari browser, has always blocked third-party cookies and had its own ad identifiers for IOS. 

"There could be concern in the industry about a system that shifts more of the benefits and control to operators like Google or Apple," said Clark Fredricksen of eMarketer, which tracks the digital ad industry. 

"Restricting third-party cookies isn't going to make relevant advertising go away; it just hands more power to big companies," said Zach Coelius, CEO of ad technology firm Triggit.