In a surprising turn of events, Google has backtracked on its years-long intention to roll out the third-party cookie phaseout in Chrome again. While the tech giant had originally committed to removing them by 2022, the timeline continued to change, and in early 2025, it formally suspended the process indefinitely. This development is causing waves throughout the digital ad landscape, causing a combination of relief and doubt among advertisers, publishers, and affiliate marketers alike.
But what does that mean for advertisers? More importantly, how can vCommission’s advertisers reset their approach to remain at the forefront of an ever-changing digital landscape? Let’s break down the implications, pitfalls, and how vCommission is proactively gearing its partners for a cookie-less future.
Cookies, particularly third-party cookies, have been the foundation of online advertising for years. They monitor user activity on websites, allowing advertisers to deliver highly relevant ads, track campaign effectiveness, and retarget users who leave carts or bounce from landing pages.
But increasing worries about user privacy, data abuse, and regulatory pressure from GDPR and CCPA led Google to take a cue from Apple’s Safari and Mozilla’s Firefox, both of which already block third-party cookies by default. Google introduced its Privacy Sandbox as an alternative, seeking to safeguard user data while meeting advertiser requirements.
But consensus-building among industry players and developing scalable solutions was tougher than anticipated. Google now acknowledges that more time is required to get the ecosystem ready. The outcome? Relief for advertisers, but also a call to arms to future-proof plans.
But consensus-building among industry players and developing scalable solutions was tougher than anticipated. Google now acknowledges that more time is required to get the ecosystem ready. The outcome? Relief for advertisers but also a call to arms to future-proof plans.
First, Google set out to sunset third-party cookies in 2022, then postponed it to 2024, and now, we’re seeing 2025 or later. The extra time provides leeway for advertisers, but also creates uncertainty for many of them about whether to keep spending on cookie-centric approaches or shift entirely.
Advertisers now have a bit of leeway. Campaigns that depend on third-party cookies, such as retargeting, multi-touch attribution, and behavioural targeting, can keep on running effectively, at least for a few quarters.
Programmatic platforms and performance channels already set aside budgets won’t require drastic reallocation, just yet.
But let there be no mistake: third-party cookies are still on the chopping block. Google’s Privacy Sandbox, which seeks to replace cookies with anonymised, cohort-based targeting (such as Topics API and FLEDGE), remains in development.
Advertisers need to interpret this delay as not a solution in perpetuity but as an extended deadline to make a shift to a more privacy-driven model.
Affiliate marketing is heavily dependent on monitoring user paths, from initial click on a publisher’s website to ultimate purchase on a merchant’s site. This monitoring is usually driven by cookies or similar mechanisms to allocate commissions properly.
So, what does Google’s cookie decision imply for vCommission and its advertisers?
The holdover ensures current cookie-based tracking systems on Chrome continue to work. This provides vCommission advertisers with additional time to adapt their strategies, provide accurate tracking, and ensure sound commission attribution.
As affiliate marketing is results-based, it relies heavily on proper tracking and attribution. As third-party cookies remain active, vCommission advertisers can keep on scaling campaigns without worrying about lost data or conversions being misattributed, for the time being.
Remember: cookies are already defaulted off in Safari and Firefox. If a lot of traffic is coming from these browsers, cookie-less attribution issues are already a factor. Chrome’s delay is a help, but it’s not a panacea.
At vCommission, this pause isn’t a pause button; it’s a chance to double down on solutions that are future-proofed to work with or without third-party cookies. This is how we’re mitigating the effect for our advertisers:
We’re assisting publishers and advertisers to collect and act upon first-party data, the safest and most compliant source of data. vCommission builds relationships with users directly and rewards logged-in behaviour by making sure that advertisers have top-notch, opt-in data to rely on.
In an effort to transition away from cookie tracking, vCommission has implemented server-to-server tracking features on its platform. The technique enables information to be directly transferred between advertiser and affiliate servers, with the goal of achieving greater accuracy and fewer browser-based cookie dependencies.
We’re shifting towards attribution models that incorporate multiple signals, including device IDs, session data, and behavioural indicators, not just cookies. This ensures commission tracking remains accurate even when third-party cookies disappear entirely.
vCommission is investing in AI-powered tools based on historical and real-time behaviour data to make predictions about user intent, inform campaign strategies, and personalise the customer journey without sacrificing privacy.
In addition to the tech stack, we actively teach our partners about the evolving privacy environment. Through webinars and practical workshops, vCommission prepares all stakeholders within the affiliate ecosystem for the next generation of marketing.
Let’s get real: whether the cookieless era is here in 2025 or beyond, it’s on its way. And brands waiting around are essentially losing out on a sharp decline in performance when cookies are ultimately phased away.
Here’s why an early transition matters:
Google’s delay of the phase-out of third-party cookies may be experienced as a relief, but it mustn’t be interpreted as a do-over. It’s an extension, and a worthwhile one, at that.
For vCommission ad buyers, this holdup is an opportunity to double down on sustainable, future-proof tactics that don’t need to rely on legacy technology. With server-to-server tracking, first-party data efforts, and next-generation AI solutions, vCommission is enabling ad buyers to not only survive but thrive in the coming era of digital advertising.
The savvy move? Make the most out of this time. Review your tracking stack and share with your vCommission account manager moving to cookie-less attribution. The future is already knocking, and vCommission can answer.
Need help in building a cookie-less strategy?
Your account manager’s there to help! All you need to do is just drop a message. If you are new to vCommission? Just sign up to get started and we’ll guide you every step of the way.
