Bye, Bye Cookie: Microsoft Plots Its Own Tracking Technology to Span Desktop, Mobile, Xbox
Redmond Joins Google, Apple, Amazon and Others In Plotting the Cookie's Demise — Microsoft is set to become the latest tech giant to develop its own tracking technology to replace the ubiquitous …
Context & Ripple Effects
Apple had already signaled a move away from cookie-style app tracking by rejecting apps using those methods and advancing its own advertising-identifier approach. Google’s proposed cookie replacement had also prompted advertising-industry concern, making Microsoft’s plan evidence that identifier design is becoming a platform-level decision rather than a browser default.
Microsoft’s proposed system matters because it is intended to span its desktop, mobile and Xbox environments, tying measurement and targeting to the company’s own product footprint.
First-order effects
- Microsoft gains a planned cross-device tracking layer across its desktop, mobile and Xbox properties, reducing reliance on the browser cookie for measurement within that footprint.
- Advertisers and developers operating across Microsoft’s services face another platform-specific identifier alongside Apple’s emerging approach and Google’s proposed replacement.
Second-order effects
- Ad-tech buyers must adapt measurement and audience workflows to incompatible platform identifiers rather than treating browser cookies as a common layer.
- Google and Apple’s identifier strategies become more consequential to advertisers as Microsoft joins the shift, amplifying the industry concerns already attached to Google’s proposal.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds, control over advertising measurement shifts from an open browser mechanism toward identifiers governed by the companies that own the operating systems, devices and consumer services.
- The resulting market structure favors firms with broad product ecosystems, while making cross-platform advertising measurement dependent on platform access and rules.
The trend: Digital advertising is moving from browser-based cookies toward proprietary identifiers controlled by major consumer-platform ecosystems.