March 2021: Google rules out tracking individuals once cookies go

Covers March 2021. Part of our search timeline: a month-by-month look at the changes that shaped SEO, AI search, paid ads and social media, written in November 2026 for local businesses with the benefit of hindsight.

This post is one entry in our timeline series, where we go back through search, AI, advertising and social changes one month at a time to explain what they mean for local firms. We wrote it in November 2026, so we already know how things turned out. Here we look at why Google’s 2021 statement still matters to trades and local service firms that advertise online.

What did Google say in March 2021?

Google’s advertising team announced that it would not use alternative identifiers to track people from site to site once third-party cookies were gone. Its focus would instead be on approaches that protect privacy and on the direct relationships businesses have with their own customers.

Why it mattered for trades and local firms

Any business that depended on remarketing or bought-in third-party audiences had to think again. A kitchen fitter who chased every website visitor with ads around the web, for example, could no longer count on that working the same way.

The things you collect yourself grew in value: email lists, records of past customers, server-side tracking and clear consent. So did ad platform automation that can perform with less data.

Steps to take today

• Build your own customer data through newsletters, service reminders, online accounts or loyalty offers, always with clear consent.
• Where customers have given permission, upload your customer lists to Google Ads and Meta.
• Check your conversion tracking, such as calls, forms and bookings, is accurate and consented, so automated bidding learns from good data.

Frequently asked questions

What counts as first-party data?

It is information customers give straight to your business, for example their email address, the jobs or products they have bought from you, and their preferences.

Did Chrome end up removing third-party cookies?

No. In 2024 Google abandoned its plan to remove them completely, though privacy controls and regulations still restrict tracking based on cookies.

Sources and further reading

• Google Ads Help: how Customer Match works

Want help with this? We set up consented tracking and measurement that you can rely on through our analysis and reporting service. Get in touch.