sketchflow ai’s Post

"Google Chrome has failed to provide key privacy protections that other browsers offer," EFF’s Lena Cohen told Newsweek; awareness of online tracking’s dangers “has led many consumers to switch to privacy-focused browsers, like Firefox and DuckDuckGo.” https://lnkd.in/g-jyiN3m

Google has officially hit pause on its plan to fully eliminate third-party cookies in Chrome—shifting from a strict phase-out to a user-choice and control model. While Safari and Firefox have long blocked third-party cookies, Chrome is taking a more gradual path due to: 🔹 Regulatory pressure 🔹 Technical challenges 🔹 An incomplete Privacy Sandbox 🔹 Growing demand for user-centric privacy Google’s pause on third-party cookie deprecation means more user control, ongoing restrictions, and a continued push for privacy-first, first-party data strategies. #DigitalPrivacy #ThirdPartyCookies #GoogleChrome #MarketingTrends

After a $425 million jury verdict in a privacy class action, U.S. users have now asked a federal judge to make Google forfeit an additional $2.36 billion in profits. The lawsuit accuses Google of secretly collecting app activity data from millions of users who had disabled account tracking features — a practice the jury called “highly offensive and without consent.” Plaintiffs argue the initial damages are “insufficient” to address ongoing privacy violations, while Google denies any wrongdoing, insisting that data was anonymized and user-controlled. The case could mark one of the largest privacy-related payouts in U.S. tech history if the court rules in favor of consumers.

 Google's April 2025 announcement: Third-party cookies remain in Chrome indefinitely. However, this doesn't mean businesses should pause privacy preparations. Current reality: Safari/Firefox already block cookies (30% of traffic) Privacy Sandbox APIs available to 99% of Chrome users Enhanced tracking protection expanding Three immediate actions: Implement Enhanced Conversions (improves accuracy by 15%) Configure proper consent management for compliance Accelerate first-party data collection The delay provides adaptation time, not an excuse to halt privacy-first strategies. Organizations building robust first-party data infrastructure now will have competitive advantages regardless of cookie availability. How is your organization preparing for the privacy-first future? #DataPrivacy #DigitalMarketing #CookieDeprecation #MarketingStrategy #PrivacyCompliance

Google’s Privacy Sandbox, the initiative launched with the aim of developing privacy-protecting technologies to replace third-party cookies on the web, has officially been shut down: https://bit.ly/4o3Q5s9 #PrivacySandbox #DigitalPrivacy #Insights

Mozilla is testing a new feature that displays search results directly in the address bar. The Oblivious HTTP protocol is intended to protect privacy.

Mozilla is testing a new feature that displays search results directly in the address bar. The Oblivious HTTP protocol is intended to protect privacy.

👋 So long, farewell, Privacy Sandbox. Last week, Google announced that it will be shelving the initiative, concluding a saga that has taken the industry through many turns. 📑 In the State of Digital Identity Report 2025, 45% of survey respondents believed that Privacy Sandbox would continue in some form of its current iteration, with only 21.5% believing development would stop entirely (we doff our cap to you smarty pants 😜). 👉 See more predictions in the State of Digital Identity Report > https://ow.ly/qASX50XjA6C

DuckDuckGo markets itself as a privacy browser. Privacy is cool. I'm sure they do fine there. I ran into an issue with their ads. I was able to replicate an issue where a person searched for a single word then clicked the first ad-supported result. The result was presumably for a major website. The ad, however, brought them to a support scam page that immediately went full-screen with this obnoxious window that also included beeping audio. Not cool. Plenty of reasons to follow some golden rules: -Avoid ad-supported search results. -Browse directly to common sites, especially if being told to visit via email/chat -Have some ad-blocking options available if you can

Is Google's "Privacy Sandbox" dead or undead? Travis Clark asked James Rosewell, and got the answer, "The danger is that Google has managed to persuade the world that Sandbox is completely dead...But, zombie like, some of its remains survive to present an ongoing threat to open web publishers." I would have to add "users" to that. Google is still participating in W3C discussions of a proposed in-browser attribution-tracking system that would—as a side effect of facilitating attribution fraud—create more incentives for fraud operators to collect more data on more people. (link in comments)