Google announced on Wednesday that due to “ongoing feedback,” the company has decided to postpone the roll-out of its plans to change Chrome’s content-blocker settings. As outlined in a past article, Google had planned to improve web experiences by preventing third-party tracking tools from being used without prior user consent.
The new settings were due to be released on July 17th, but Google decided to delay the launch given the continued dialogue between stakeholders. This marks the second delay of the launch — the company had originally planned to launch the update in early June.
As Google notes in its latest statement, the proposal to modify Chrome’s content-blocking settings raised a lot of important questions among users and developers. “We understand that people have questions about how this will work, what the impacts will be, and how Google will ensure that user privacy is protected,” the statement reads.
In response to the questions, Google says that it’s launching a dedicated website to answer the most common questions and providing additional tools to help developers adapt. The website is expected to go live next week, and Google will continue to measure the impact of changes to Chrome’s settings.
While Google has been fairly tight-lipped about its timeline for release, it’s clear that the company won’t rush this update. In its statement, Google noted that it “will continue to work with the community over the coming weeks and months on this project, so that everyone has the time and information necessary to understand and prepare for the changes.”
It’s unclear when Google will finally launch the settings, but the delay will ensure that stakeholders have a chance to weigh in and understand what changes are being made. Given the importance of web privacy and security, it’s essential that Google does not rush the process.
