First-Party vs Third-Party Cookies
In web analytics, understanding the difference between first-party and third-party cookies is important for how people experience websites and how online ads work. In this guide, you'll find out how they're different and how they're used in server-side tagging.
First-party cookies come from the website you're directly using and help make your experience better. On the flip side, third-party cookies, from outside sources, are often used to track what you do online and show you specific ads on different sites.
Google, started to phase-out to stop using third-party cookies in Chrome browsers, causing a big change in how things work online. This leads us to Server Side Tracking – a different way to track what you do online. It not only fills the gap left by third-party cookies but also makes sure your privacy is better protected.
🔑 Key Points
- First-party cookies enhance the user experience and are created by the visited domain.
- Third-party cookies, created by third-party entities, track user behavior across websites.
- Tech giants such as Google plan to phase out third-party cookies by 2024, with major implications for online advertising.
- The rise of Server Side Tracking offers an alternative to third-party cookies, with benefits such as better privacy protection.
Table of Contents
- What are First-Party Cookies?
- First Party vs Third Party Cookies: A Comparison
- Third-party cookies phasing out
- Summary
What are First-Party Cookies?
First-party cookies primarily provide a smooth user experience on a website. They are created by the domain you visit and contain information such as the data you enter and possibly your IP address.
Examples of first-party cookies include:
- The greeting cookie: It recognizes you when you visit a website and allows you to log in.
- The shopping cart cookie: Stores the products you place in your shopping cart.
- The recommendation cookie: Does product recommendations based on your preferences.
What are Third-Party Cookies?
Third-party cookies are created by external parties and not by the domain you are directly visiting. These cookies are primarily aimed at tracking your online behavior and showing you targeted ads.
Functions of third-party cookies include:
- Tracking: Tracking your behavior across websites.
- Retargeting: Referring you to websites with products that might interest you.
- Ad Presentation: Show personalized ads that match your interests.
How are Third-Party Cookies Made?
Third-party cookies are often the result of ad servers and other external entities seeking to understand your browsing behavior and respond accordingly. Companies such as Facebook, Google, and other advertising platforms utilize these cookies to present you with targeted ads or direct you to a specific landing page, with the goal of conversion.
The distinction between first-party and third-party cookies lies mainly in their origin and purpose. While the originating website produces exclusively first-party cookies, external sources may generate third-party cookies that enable cross-site tracking.
Third-Party Cookies Phasing Out
Google has announced that it will phase out third-party cookies in Chrome by 2024. This is a major change that will have a significant impact on the way online advertising is done.
The phase-out of third-party cookies is driven by user privacy concerns. Third-party cookies can be used to track users’ movements around the Internet, which can be an invasion of privacy.
The Privacy Sandbox Timeline for the Web.
On the privacysandbox.com timeline you can see two milestones in Q4 2023 and Q1 2024, as part of Chrome-facilitated testing modes. This testing is primarily for organizations testing the Privacy Sandbox relevance and measurement APIs, however as part of this we will be disabling third-party cookies for 1% of Chrome Stable users.
On the timeline available at Privacy Sandbox, there are two significant milestones marked for Q4 2023 and Q1 2024, integrated into Chrome-facilitated testing modes. While this testing predominantly caters to organizations evaluating the relevance and measurement APIs of the Privacy Sandbox, a notable aspect involves the temporary disablement of third-party cookies for 1% of Chrome Stable users.
Privacy Sandbox Analysis Tool (PSAT)
Privacy Sandbox Analysis Tool (PSAT), a DevTools extension to facilitate analysis of cookie usage during browsing sessions. This provides debugging pathways for cookies and Privacy Sandbox features, with access points to learn more about the Privacy Sandbox initiative.
See how you can use Privacy Sandbox API on Chrome.
Server Side Tracking
The phasing out of third-party cookies is a major change that is forcing websites to move to alternatives such as Server Side Tracking.
Server Side Tracking provides an alternative method of tracking user behavior without relying on traditional third-party cookies.
Server Side Tracking offers a number of advantages over third-party cookies, including better privacy protection and more reliable/more data.
Summary
First-party cookies can directly connected to the website you're on, working to make your experience better. For example, if you're on "example.com" first-party cookies from that domain might remember your preferences or keep track of items you put in a shopping cart.
On the other hand, third-party cookies, while still useful, are often more about business and advertising. They come from external sources and can track your online behavior to show you specific ads on different websites.
Server-side tagging gains more important, it's crucial to grasp how these cookies work and what they do in our evolving your cookieless world through Hardal.