Chrome did not phase out third-party cookies. In April 2025 Google announced that it would keep its current approach of letting each user choose, and would not roll out a new standalone prompt about third-party cookies. You decide in Chrome’s settings whether to allow or block them, and Incognito windows already block them by default.
If you read that third-party cookies were going away in Chrome, that was the plan for several years. It changed. This page explains what happened and how to set the choice yourself.
How to allow or block third-party cookies
These steps are from Google’s help page Delete, allow and manage cookies in Chrome.
On a computer
- Open Chrome. At the top right, select More (three dots) > Settings.
- Select Privacy and security > Third-party cookies.
- Choose Allow third-party cookies or Block third-party cookies.
You can also paste chrome://settings/cookies into the address bar to go straight to that page.
If you block them and a site stops working, you can add it under Sites allowed to use third-party cookies on the same page. For a quick test on a computer, select Third-party cookies blocked in the address bar and turn Third-party cookies on. Google says that lets the site use them for 90 days, or until you turn it off.
On an Android phone or tablet
- Open Chrome. At the top right, tap More (three dots) > Settings.
- Tap Site settings > Third-party cookies.
- Choose Allow third-party cookies or Block third-party cookies.
On an iPhone or iPad
Google’s cookie help for iPhone and iPad covers deleting cookies, not a setting for third-party cookies. To delete cookies there, use Chrome’s delete browsing data option; our guide to managing cookies in Chrome covers deleting cookies on every device.
What third-party cookies are
Google’s help describes two kinds. Cookies are files that sites save to make browsing easier, for example to keep you signed in. First-party cookies are created by the site shown in your address bar. Third-party cookies are created by other sites whose content (images, ads, text) is embedded in the page you are on. Those sites can use them to personalize content and ads and to learn about what you do on other sites. Google warns that blocking cookies can make some sites stop working as expected.
What happened to the phase-out
- 2019: Google announced the Privacy Sandbox, which it describes as an effort to strengthen online privacy while keeping an ad-supported internet. How Chrome treats third-party cookies was part of the same project.
- January 2022: Google announced the Topics proposal, which replaced its earlier FLoC proposal for interest-based ads after trials of FLoC.
- Summer 2024: Google said it was exploring a new approach to how Chrome treats third-party cookies.
- April 2025: Google decided to keep offering the choice in Chrome’s Privacy and security settings, with no new standalone prompt, and said Incognito mode already blocks third-party cookies by default.
- October 2025: Google said it would retire many Privacy Sandbox technologies, including Topics, Protected Audience and the Attribution Reporting API, citing their low adoption.
For what the Privacy Sandbox was, which parts are being removed and which ones stay, see Chrome’s Privacy Sandbox explained.
Should you block third-party cookies?
That is your choice. Blocking them limits how other sites can follow your activity across the web. The cost is that some sites that rely on them may not work as expected, which you can fix one site at a time with the exceptions list described above. If you mostly want privacy for some browsing sessions, an Incognito window already blocks third-party cookies without changing your normal settings.