Google is changing how cookie choices work in Europe

Websites in Europe are required to have a cookie consent banner by law so that you can allow sites to store some information about you that they can use to tailor your preferences, monitor ad campaigns, and ensure that you're not a bot. However, European regulators have recently updated their guidance on this topic, and as such, Google is complying by updating its cookie mechanism too.

Starting with France, YouTube users will start seeing the redesigned cookie consent banner shown below. Users will have "reject all" and "accept all" choices but can also customize their experience by clicking on the "More options" button.

The idea is to have a brand-new cookie choice where you can accept or reject all cookies with a single click. As such, Google has emphasized that this is not just a UX redesign, it has actually had to re-engineer its cookie infrastructure to ensure that the changes are propagated correctly. Google says:

We believe this update responds to updated regulatory guidance and is aligned with our broader goal of helping build a more sustainable future for the web. We’ve committed to building new privacy-preserving technologies in the Privacy Sandbox for the same reason. We believe it is possible both to protect people’s privacy online and to give companies and developers tools to build thriving digital businesses.

Although the process starts from YouTube in France, it will expand to cover all Google services in Europe eventually.