.png)
SUBSCRIBE ME
How Cookie Alternatives From Microsoft and Google Stack Up
Microsoft Working On Own Cookies Replacement
The third-party cookies used by
advertisers and their agencies to track web browsing activity are under
attack. Browsers like Firefox and Internet Explorer try to block the
years-old technology with "Do Not Track," and now internet behemoths are looking to replace cookies with their own tracking technologies. The newest entrant, according to Ad Age,
is Microsoft, which sources say is working on a technology that could
track users across Windows computers, Bing, Internet Explorer, Windows
Phone devices, and Xbox consoles in order to serve highly targeted ads.
Microsoft said in a statement
to the website that "We agree that going beyond the cookie is important.
Our priority will be to find ways to do this that respect the interests
of consumers." However, the primary interest is likely in filling the
gaps where cookies fall short, like on mobile, consoles, and streaming
video services, where they have limited to no ability to track user
activity.
Microsoft looking to replace the cookie. Microsoft and and Google
are eyeing their own technologies to track people's digital behaviors
-- the sites they visit, the apps they use, the videos they watch, etc.
Such a cookie replacement would help them better target ads -- as well
as give them immense power in the the digital-advertising space. How
might the longtime rivals' odds stack up?
MICROSOFT
Manifesto:
Microsoft's cookie replacement would trace users across
Microsoft-owned devices and services and target ads within those
environments.
DEVICES/PROGRAMS:
Desktop computers, tablets and smartphones running Windows operating
system; Microsoft's Xbox gaming console; Microsoft-run services
including Internet Explorer and Bing.
STRENGTHS:
Microsoft could bring TV into the tracking and-targeting mix through Xbox, which lets users watch videos on Hulu, YouTube and even live TV through cable providers Comcast Xfinity and Verizon FiOS.
Shortcomings:
Too few mobile users could hamper the tracker's ability to span
desktop, tablets and smartphones. Research firm IDC projects Microsoft's
smartphone operating system's market share at 3.9% globally compared
with 75.3% for Google's Android and 16.9% for Apple's iOS.
Limiting the tracker to Microsoft's devices and services would
constrict some interest, though the inclusion of Xbox could be a
game-changer.
GOOGLE
Manifesto:
Details on Google's plans are scarce, but it would likely retain the
current cookie's functionality and apply it to both the desktop and
mobile web as well as mobile apps to track a single anonymized user
across the various devices.
DEVICES/PROGRAMS:
Chrome desktop and mobile browser, Chrome desktop operating system,
tablets and smartphones running Google's Android mobile operating
system, Google's network of third-party sites and apps.
STRENGTHS:
Google already sees into the behaviors of billions of internet users
through its own properties, including search, YouTube and Gmail, and
network of third-party sites. Extending that across desktop and mobile
and connecting the currently divided channels would give advertisers the
most comprehensive window yet into consumers' digital habits.
Shortcomings:
Google's online-advertising dominance already makes people wary.
Owning digital advertising's central-targeting technology and the data
it reaps could re-raise regulatory concerns.
Google's position atop the digital-advertising food chain all but
guarantees its cookie replacement will gain traction—assuming the
advertising community and regulators are willing to cede the company
even more power.
