Cookies: Google is letting go of third-party tracking cookies, a vital cog in their advertising machine

3/4/21 7:00PM

Third-party tracking cookies, which often "follow" internet users from website to website, are currently being phased out by Google Chrome, the world's most popular web browser, and this week Google went one step further promising not to replace third-party cookies with an equally invasive alternative.

No more hands in the cookie jar‍

The third-party cookie has been a core part of Google's advertising business for a long time and seeing as Alphabet (Google's parent company) made an astonishing $147bn in advertising revenue last year (80% of its total), it would be an unusual move for Google to do anything that would drastically diminish its ability to sell targeted ads.

So it's perhaps no surprise then that Google does have something in place to keep its ad business pumping, something they are calling the "Federated Learning of Cohorts", or FLoC if you want a new acronym to forget later.

Google says that FLoC "proposes a new way for businesses to reach people with relevant content and ads by clustering large groups of people with similar interests... [which] effectively hides individuals “in the crowd”". Sounds good. Then comes the most telling line of all; Google's tests of FLoC reveal that "advertisers can expect to see at least 95% of the conversions per dollar spent when compared to cookie-based advertising". So a pretty good replacement then.

If FLoC can replace third-party cookies, deliver similar results for advertisers, and give users a little more privacy then it really is a win-win-win — and kudos to Google if so. If in practice it doesn't work as well as in theory, and the $150bn advertising juggernaut falters substantially, then Googlewill really have an ethical dilemma on its hands.

Max Knoblauch7h

American Airlines joins the flock, hiking bag fees amid higher jet fuel prices

American Airlines on Thursday announced that it, too, will be hiking the fees it charges customers to check luggage.

With the move, all four of the major US airlines, which together control about 80% of the US market, have now hiked their baggage fees in recent days amid surging jet fuel prices.

The change will go into effect on tickets bought on or after Thursday, the same day Southwest’s hike begins.

Since late March, JetBlue, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Canada’s WestJet, and Southwest have hiked their fees. Experts expect more major carriers to follow, and to potentially tweak the pricing of other ancillary revenue sources like seat assignments and carry-on luggage.

American Airlines updates bag fees and Basic Economy fares

The change will go into effect on tickets bought on or after Thursday, the same day Southwest’s hike begins.

Max Knoblauch8h

Less than a year after implementing them, Southwest is also hiking its bag fees

Southwest Airlines has joined the growing list of airlines opting to hike their bag fees amid sustained higher jet fuel costs.

Starting today, the first checked bag at the carrier — which implemented bag fees less than a year ago — will jump from $35 to $45, and the second from $45 to $55. Southwest quietly disclosed the change Tuesday.

Southwest assigned the decision to “part of an ongoing analysis of the business and against the evolving global backdrop.”

As of Wednesday, jet fuel prices dropped to $4.16 a gallon, per the Argus US Jet Fuel Index, down from $4.81 on Tuesday following President Trump’s ceasefire announcement, which sent travel stocks soaring. Major airlines have shed some of those gains in premarket trading Thursday.

With the move to hike bag fees, Southwest joins JetBlue, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and Canada’s WestJet, all of which also boosted fees this month. Experts expect more major carriers to follow, and to potentially tweak the pricing of other ancillary revenue sources like seat assignments and carry-on luggage.