Privacy Sandbox: Answers from Ginny Marvin

While the market continues to discuss Google’s decision to phase out cookies, the company is actively developing its alternative project, Privacy Sandbox, which is intended to better protect users’ personal data while maintaining the ability to target ads in the Google Chrome browser. The Privacy Sandbox program creates a lot of contentious misunderstandings among marketers. The introduction of new methods that will replace the now obsolete third-party cookies is especially noteworthy. Ginny Marvin, a Technology Evangelist at Google Ads, is poised to bring clarity to all the issues.

Privacy Sandbox: Basic Concepts for the Average User

The Privacy Sandbox program was first announced about two years ago. In August of last year, initial attempts were made to change methods of using digital advertising. During this period, the test team focused on user data privacy. One main goal is to eliminate the necessity for cookies. Throughout this process, effective communication with the open internet community was established.

At the current development stage, Privacy Sandbox offers several (API) methods aimed at maintaining several monetization application protocols. These include:

• interest-based marketing;
• reporting;
• marketing changes and many others.

The most common technology is known as federated cohort learning, often referred to by the acronym FLoC. It involves using data on user interests for creating competent and effective advertising. Groups are formed in this way. However, with this option, there’s no need to attract customer profiles.

To assign all users into groups based on their interests, browsing history is used. Yet, the entire process remains completely confidential. Achieving such results in working with cohorts was possible thanks to on-device processing.

To demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed API, several tests were conducted. One of them proved that factors such as audience reach showing interest and an audience selected based on FLoC are comparable with the signals from cookies.

To study all works related to the API in more detail, you can refer to forums like W3C.

Impact of the Lack of Alternative Identifiers on Marketers: How This Fact Will Affect Their Work Algorithm

The lack of alternative identifiers will directly affect advertising process initiators. This influence is tied to Google Ads not planning to use new identifiers when excluding the use of cookies information. Instead, the functionality of marketing tools for Google Ads will rely solely on Privacy Sandbox. This API pathway is an effective opportunity for creating ad targeting and measuring performance.

Despite many technologies still in the development phase, their main aim is to assist advertisers and publishers in achieving high profits, all while prioritizing each user’s privacy.

Impact of Changes on Targeting: Future Vision

One advantage is the possibility for advertising process initiators to use their own technology to determine the most effective FLoC identifiers. Such platforms as ad-tech should view this list as an initial target list. This algorithm will be applicable to Google Display & Video 360, which allows you to not limit yourself only to Google’s context-media platform.

Note! The first half of 2021 is planned for developing such functionalities effectively. Cooperation with many partner companies and users in related industries has been established for this purpose.

Will Access to Remarketing Be Retained in 2022?

A common question is about the possibility of using remarketing without applying third-party cookies.

In 2020, Chrome released the TURTLEDOVE program. It allows enterprises, publishers, or marketers to apply their own data in the remarketing process. For example, information about consumers of services or goods who visited the official resource.

Over time, a new program, FLEDGE, was released. It significantly increased TURTLEDOVE’s functionality. In creating on-device algorithms, data from another trusted server can now be applied. This server is needed only for these purposes. All user data, including browsing history, remains confidential. Testing in 2021 is planned to comprehend this project’s practicality.

Impact of Changes on Three Types of Reporting: Change Placement, Interest-Cohorts, and Engaged Users

For marketers, relevant reporting access remains open, including those mentioned above. This aids in making important and effective decisions. A more detailed discussion on this topic will take place later.

New Possibilities for Creating Groups by the ‘Interest’ Criterion. What Future Awaits These Changes?

The primary goal of FLoC in the new version is for the browser to create groups based on users’ interests while maintaining complete data confidentiality. In other words, identifying a specific visitor from a group will be impossible. Cohort grouping uses similar user activities over a specified time period.

Marketers have open access to apply individual learning algorithms and predict further analytics. This allows for defining cohorts, the audience, or their interests, which become an effective identifier.

One of FLoC’s goals is to create opportunities for marketers that will be no less effective than the application of other cookie-based data. The only difference is that the first scenario emphasizes cohort privacy.

What Cohort Details Will Be Available?

Despite ongoing cohort testing, their basis is web interests that determine user behavior. The nearest testing period is scheduled in cooperation with Google Ads marketers for the third quarter of 2021.

What Frequency Will the Cohorts Be Updated?

During the trial testing period, cohort updates will be set every 7 days. On this day, users’ redistribution among FLoC cohorts will occur if their behavior has changed.

For example, a user may belong to one cohort with tens of thousands of other users who displayed interest in the same resource (one site for selling cars, furniture, travel agency services, etc.). Upon FLoC’s update, they might be redirected to another cohort if they showed interest in other sites. For example:

• viewing services for computer and mobile phone repair;
• selling washing machines and other household appliances;
• culinary sites (with recipes with photos).

Google Ads does not exclude the future possibility of selling interest-based audiences (or mutually beneficial exchange). Some documents confirm this feature. However, it’s not yet clear whether Google Ads will use this possibility.

Note! Currently, Google Ads’ main goal is to provide support in decision-making aimed at interaction between consumers and publishers (firms, brands, and companies).

Impact of New Features on Reports in Google Analytics

In Google Analytics, the ability to use individual information remains. This can be done separately or in combination with Google’s data. Changes have affected conversion algorithms. With GA innovations, the ability to perform such work on third-party resources is removed.

Important Information for Advertisers

The platform’s main goal is to develop a solution that will help protect each user’s privacy over the long term. At the same time, it will provide marketers with successful operation based on confidentiality. The data priority is device-based storage.

Despite the development of the Privacy Sandbox program, there are currently no resources to completely eliminate cookies.

Certain user questions may remain unanswered. However, new information related to these developments will be gradually provided. For instance, Google’s next step involves the primary testing of the cohort based on FLoC. Work will begin in the next quarter.