Time to Turn Off Cookies? Making Sense of Google’s Chrome Changes

Google was going to dump its cookie jar into the garbage. For now, it’s back on the shelf.

The company reversed course on Monday and said it isn’t getting rid of the software cookies that track you across the web. Instead, it says it will make it easier for you to turn them off.

So now what? Do you block them yourself? Internet cookies have long been a standard part of web browsers and a major way advertisers track potential customers who view their products online. They’re the reason you see an ad for spatulas on some random website after you search for them on Amazon. 

So, yeah, if you like spatulas following you around the internet and companies keeping tabs on you, keep cookie-ing on. If you don’t, turn them off. Privacy is a big reason other browsers have moved away from third-party cookies. 

Confused? Hungry? Here’s where things stand now.