Google to test interest-based user tracking

Google will not build alternate identifiers to track individuals, it said on Wednesday, a year after it decided to phase out third-party cookies that store user information when people browse websites on Chrome. The decision has been taken to protect user privacy.

“Today, we are making explicit that once third-party cookies are phased out, we will not build alternate identifiers to track individuals as they browse across the web, nor will we use them in our products. We don’t believe these solutions will meet rising consumer expectations for privacy, nor will they stand up to rapidly evolving regulatory restrictions and, therefore, aren’t a sustainable long-term investment,” said David Temkin, director of product management, ads privacy and trust, Google, in a blog post.

The company, which relies heavily on digital advertising using user data, said it will not track individual-level data such as personally identifiable information (PII) graphs based on people’s email addresses.