The future of "cookies"

Cookies, in their simplest form, are an algorithmic device for helping websites record information about their users. They are supposed to enhance the user experience by allowing for personalized content. They also help advertisers (and thereby help website owners) by enabling targeted ads.

Naturally, then, they have come under scrutiny on privacy grounds.

In the European Union, there is a General Protection Data Requirement that requires websites to get explicit consent from users before collecting any data by means of cookies.

Yet that can't be the end of the dispute. At least three factors seem to be driving us toward a cookie-less future:

Consent fatigue: With Users quickly tire of the pop-ups requesting their consent to the cookies. It comes to seem like an artillery barrage.
Technological limitations: Cookies don't give the advertisers as much value as they'd like. After all, they are device specific, and much of the web browsing public moves their browsing back and forth amongst devices.
Ad blockers and browsers: Users now often make use of ad blockers or privacy-focused browsers, limiting further the marketing value of cookies.

So: what is the future of cookies? I have no real thoughts on the subject, I just thought I'd set this up. Anyone who does have any thoughts should feel free, like a rabbit, to hop right in.

Comments

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