Rise and Fall of Google's Privacy Sandbox. Why did Google decide to remove third-party cookies, what solution did they propose, and why everything went wrong?
Author
Peschanskyi, Mykyta
Term
4. term
Publication year
2024
Pages
50
Abstract
This thesis examines the industry-wide shift away from third-party cookies in digital advertising and Google’s attempt to replace them with the Privacy Sandbox. It addresses why Google initially planned to deprecate third-party cookies, how the Privacy Sandbox was designed as a replacement, and what contributed to Google’s July 2024 decision to retain cookies in Chrome. The analysis is based on desk research of technical documentation and official Google sources, a review of industry publications and academic literature, policy analysis (including GDPR), and a mapping of stakeholder responses from advertisers, publishers, industry bodies (e.g., IAB), standards forums (W3C), regulators, and privacy advocates. The thesis outlines the digital advertising ecosystem and its reliance on third-party cookies, presents a high-level overview of the Privacy Sandbox without deep API-level detail, and traces key developments and milestones leading up to the reversal. It identifies major challenges to Privacy Sandbox adoption, including industry readiness, questions about effectiveness in early testing, competition and regulatory considerations, and unresolved privacy concerns. It also surveys emerging alternatives—such as browser fingerprinting and Universal IDs—and discusses their privacy and performance limitations. The work is bounded by the early maturity of the technology, limited independent evidence, and conflicting results reported in publicly available tests.
Dette speciale undersøger skiftet væk fra tredjepartscookies i digital annoncering og Googles forsøg på at erstatte dem med Privacy Sandbox. Projektet adresserer, hvorfor Google oprindeligt ville udfase tredjepartscookies, hvordan Privacy Sandbox er tænkt som alternativ, og hvilke forhold der medvirkede til, at Google i juli 2024 besluttede at bevare cookies i Chrome. Metodisk bygger analysen på desk research af teknisk dokumentation og officielle kilder fra Google, gennemgang af branchepublikationer og akademisk litteratur, politikanalyse (bl.a. GDPR), samt en kortlægning af reaktioner fra annoncører, udgivere, brancheorganisationer (fx IAB), standardiseringsfora (W3C), tilsynsmyndigheder og privacy-aktivister. Specialet beskriver det digitale annoncemarked og afhængigheden af tredjepartscookies, præsenterer Privacy Sandbox på et overordnet niveau uden dyb teknisk gennemgang af API’er, og gennemgår udviklingsforløb og milepæle frem til beslutningen om at fastholde cookies. Det identificerer centrale udfordringer for udrulning af Privacy Sandbox, herunder branchens parathed, effektivitet og målinger i tidlige tests, konkurrence- og reguleringshensyn samt uafklarede privatlivsproblemer. Endelig skitserer specialet alternativer, der vinder frem i kølvandet på cookie-usikkerheden—som browser-fingerprinting og Universal IDs—og drøfter deres privatlivs- og effektivitetsmæssige begrænsninger. Arbejdet afgrænses af teknologiens tidlige modenhed, begrænset uafhængig evidens og modstridende resultater i offentligt tilgængelige tests.
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