Google will soon let Chrome users block advanced tracking cookies, report suggests

Users to get better privacy at expense of advertisers

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Googleis tightening itsChromebrowser’s privacy controls, according to a report inThe Wall Street Journal. Sources familiar with the matter have told the publication that the search giant is getting ready to launch a “dashboard-like” tool on Chrome that would show more details about tracking cookies and provide options to limit them.

If this comes to pass, it will be a significant move from Google, considering rival browsers (like Firefox andSafari) already have some amount of cookie blocking controls built-in, and Google’s business is modelled around targeted advertising.

The tool is likely not going to affect Google’s own tracking scripts but could significantly harm digital advertising firms who rely on cookies to sell online ads. It also gives Google an unfair advantage over advertising rivals but it could also increase the trust users have in its product.

Long time coming

According to the Journal, the tool is six years in the making and could be released “as soon as this week”, meaning we could hear the announcement duringGoogle’s I/O 2019conference.

Sources say that the delay in launching the new privacy tool was due to technical issues, and also because the tech giant was reportedly in talks with advertising companies to gauge how the changes would affect them. However, Google stepped up its efforts after the Cambridge Analytica data scandal broke.

Google isn’t the only company to ramp up privacy on its browser.Microsofttoday announced a slew ofnew features for its new Chromium-based Edge browser, among which are three levels of privacy controls that customize how third parties can track users across the web.

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While she’s happiest with a camera in her hand, Sharmishta’s main priority is being TechRadar’s APAC Managing Editor, looking after the day-to-day functioning of the Australian, New Zealand and Singapore editions of the site, steering everything from news and reviews to ecommerce content like deals and coupon codes. While she loves reviewing cameras and lenses when she can, she’s also an avid reader and has become quite the expert on ereaders and E Ink writing tablets, having appeared on Singaporean radio to talk about these underrated devices. Other than her duties at TechRadar, she’s also the Managing Editor of the Australian edition of Digital Camera World, and writes for Tom’s Guide and T3.

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