{"id":2701,"date":"2021-05-08T11:53:00","date_gmt":"2021-05-08T09:53:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.htt.it\/?p=2701"},"modified":"2026-02-08T21:26:20","modified_gmt":"2026-02-08T20:26:20","slug":"cookieless-world-a-world-without-cookies-simple-explained","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.htt.it\/en\/cookieless-world-a-world-without-cookies-simple-explained\/","title":{"rendered":"Cookieless world, a world without cookies. Simple explained :)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
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January 2026 update (full content revision)<\/em><\/p>\n

Cookieless world: a (nearly) cookie-free world explained simply<\/h2>\n

This article analyzes how the cookieless world<\/strong> is changing marketing, measurement and advertising, with a focus on first-party data<\/strong>, privacy, CRM and server-side infrastructures.<\/p>\n

The \u201ccookieless world\u201d is not an ON\/OFF switch. It is a transition: more tracking restrictions, more fragmentation across browsers and platforms, and much greater weight placed on first-party data, consent-based measurement and server-side architectures.
\nIf you still rely on third-party cookies as the foundation for targeting and attribution, in 2026 the risk is not \u201closing a bit of performance\u201d: it is losing control.<\/p>\n<\/header>\n

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January 2026 update: what has really changed<\/h2>\n

Since 2021, Safari and Firefox have continued to strongly limit cross-site tracking. Apple, with App Tracking Transparency (ATT), has made opt-in for tracking within apps structural: most users choose \u201cno,\u201d so IDFA and mobile advertising tracking have lost coverage.<\/p>\n

At Google, the story has been more complex: after years of announcements, tests and delays, Chrome has not definitively \u201cturned off\u201d third-party cookies for all users. The operational point, however, does not change: between progressive restrictions, consent, ad blockers, alternative browsers (such as Brave) and higher privacy expectations, relying on third-party cookies as before is becoming increasingly unsustainable.<\/p>\n

Translated: there is no need to wait for an \u201cofficial date.\u201d What is needed is to make data, measurement and activation robust today.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n

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And what about user privacy?<\/h3>\n

Everything works until the central issue emerges: privacy.
\nIf I visit site \u201cALFA,\u201d it is intuitive that that site collects some data to function and improve the experience.
\nBut if I go to site \u201cBETA,\u201d why should \u201cBETA\u201d receive information about my behavior on \u201cALFA\u201d without explicit permission?<\/p>\n

A simple example: if a user visits a lingerie website for a \u201csensitive\u201d purchase, does it make sense for such information to become reusable signals elsewhere, without context and without consent?
\nThis is where the push to block third-party cookies comes from. And the point many overlook is that, on an average site, the number of involved actors can be very large: data passing through multiple servers for profiling, remarketing, dynamic creative optimization (DCO), frequency capping and other logics.<\/p>\n

Facebook and iOS<\/h3>\n

With iOS 14.5, Apple introduced App Tracking Transparency: apps must ask permission to track users across third-party apps and sites.
\nWhen Facebook updated its app, many users saw the tracking consent request appear (also framed as \u201csupport\u201d for a free service). Data published by Flurry at the time showed very low opt-in rates: around 4% in the U.S. and, globally, still minority percentages.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n

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Who will suffer the most from the \u201ccookieless world\u201d?<\/h2>\n

\n As the web moves toward fewer third-party cookies, the impact will not be the same for everyone: some businesses will lose effectiveness far more quickly than others.\n<\/p>\n

\nIt is becoming increasingly important to build a broad and reliable container of first-party data.
\nWho suffers most in this scenario? Often small ecommerce businesses and organizations with little owned traffic.
\nLarge players (marketplaces and retailers with huge volumes) have a wealth of first-party data that allows segmentation and activation with less reliance on third-party cookies.<\/p>\n

Smaller businesses, instead, have historically used third-party signals to:
\nfind new \u201csimilar\u201d users, fuel performance automations, and scale campaigns with limited budgets.
\nHere the role of agencies becomes concrete: helping enhance first-party data, strengthen measurement, and build realistic alternatives.<\/p>\n