Google says it’s no longer interested in tracking users

Google claims preserving user privacy is now a top priority.

Google’s plans to phase out tracking cookies last year were met with skepticism. However, the company has once again reiterated its intentions to help protect user privacy.

Tracking cookies were initially pitched as a means of creating a more personalised web experience. Over time, however, they were subverted for unscrupulous uses and these days are mostly seen as a threat to online privacy.

“Today, we’re 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,” said David Temkin, Google’s Director of Product Management for Ads Privacy and Trust.

Back when Google, which was one of the pioneers of the tracking cookie, announced plans to slowly discontinue the use of cookies, many privacy advocates agreed that Google probably had another trick up its sleeve.

“Keeping the internet open and accessible for everyone requires all of us to do more to protect privacy – and that means an end to not only third-party cookies, but also any technology used for tracking individual people as they browse the web,” said Temkin.