3rd Party Cookies: What They Are and How They Affect Bloggers Like You?
Cookies are a staple of the internet. They’re used on many websites and apps to personalize content and provide certain features.
The practice of using 3rd party cookies is a common practice by some companies that can affect bloggers and influencers. Third-party cookies are used by advertisers to track users and their behaviors across the web.
This means that these third-party cookies are able to monitor your online activity, which includes where you go, what you see, what time of day it is, how many hours you spend on each website, etc.
The use of third-party cookies is not restricted to just advertisers though! There are other types of companies that use third-party cookies for various reasons too.
Some other types include analytics companies, social media companies, advertising networks, retargeting agencies, etc.
These third-party cookies will be able to monitor all your browsing habits as well as scrape any data from your browser so they can know more about you.
"Google announced that it would phase out third-party cookies from its Chrome browser by the end of 2024, creating a cookieless future that potentially poses a major obstacle for the marketing industry" - litmus
What Are 3rd Party Cookies?:
The definition of 3rd party cookies is anything that records your browsing history. These are used by various types of companies, not just advertisers. A third-party company can be an analytical company, social media network, advertising agency, or retargeting agency.
Cookies are a standard for the internet and can be used to help personalize content for you. They also provide certain features like storing your preferences and keeping you signed in on websites.
Third-party cookies are most often associated with advertisers because they use them to track users’ online activity so they know what to advertise to them accordingly. They all have their own reasons for using third-party cookies but all will share your browser information with each other so they know more about you too!
"Deprecation of third-party cookies makes it difficult for SEO pros and marketers to sustain recent growth, as they’ll be expected to deliver the same or better results with fewer data" - Search Engine Journal
Why Do Companies Use Them?:
The reason companies use third-party cookies is to gather data about you and your browsing habits. This data can be used in many ways. For example, it could be used for advertising purposes to help advertisers reach potential customers that fit into their ideal customer profile or age group.
Third-party cookies are also used by social media companies to better understand the usage of their platform. They can monitor how often a user interacts with other users on the site, how many likes they give, and more.
Social media platforms might also use these cookies to collect information on which ads a user sees and clicks on platforms and can better tailor ads to a person's interests.
How Do Third-Party Cookies Affect Bloggers and Influencers?:
Bloggers and influencers may also suffer the effects of third-party cookies.
Many bloggers and influencers will be paid in exchange for promoting a product, generating traffic for a company, or providing social media content. It’s not uncommon for these bloggers and influencers to use ad words or sponsored posts to generate income.
What many don’t know is that when they use these methods they are agreeing to allow advertisers to put cookies on their browsers which will track their online activity.
Although this information is often collected anonymously, it can still be used against you in the form of advertisements if you’ve said anything negative about a company previously or made any comments about products that were not positive.
So make sure you read the fine print before signing your contract with companies like these!
What Can I Do About Them?:
There are a few things you can do to protect your privacy from 3rd party cookies:
The first option is to be aware of how these third-party cookies can affect you and your browsing habits. Be aware of the websites that will use them and what they’re used for.
The second thing you can do is block some or all third-party cookies based on your needs and requirements.
Third, if possible, try not to use public computers when you browse the internet. Public computers often have software installed by the owner of the machine that might track your data without your knowledge.
And lastly, only visit websites like blogs or social media pages where you know they don’t use third-party cookies. Overall, do your best as long as meet your concerns.
Conclusion:
3rd party cookies are a way for advertisers to track your internet activity and they’re something you need to be aware of. The more aware you are of how these cookies work, the more you can protect yourself.
Here are some tips for how to prevent third-party cookies from tracking you:
- Keep your web browser up to date with the latest versions.
- Use an ad blocker.
- Use private browsing.
- Change your cookie settings.
- Limit your browsing at public locations.
- Use an encrypted connection.
- Avoid using public wifi to browse the web.
By now, I hope you have a good understanding of the significance and impact of third-party cookies.
P.S: Also, visit Digital Marketing Forum that answers [most un-answered] questions.
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