Google promises not to harm rivals with new proposals for Chrome browser

Google is planning an overhaul of how ads work on its popular Chrome browser (Andrew Matthews/PA)

Google has promised that it will not discriminate against rivals when implementing a new way to target advertising.

The US technology giant has pledged that it will not favour its own advertising and advertising technology businesses when designing and operating a new system which will be a major overhaul of how ads work on the Chrome browser.

Google is planning to replace so-called third party cookies with a new “privacy sandbox” sometime next year. It is already running trials.

It would mean that instead of traditional third-party cookies, where advertisers are able to track individuals across the websites they visit, users will be split into cohorts.

Rather than a person’s browser history being sent to a central location, their own computer will figure out what they like and assign them to a group with similar interests.

Online ads will still be personalised under the system, but Google claims it will afford users greater privacy.

But rivals and regulators worry that the move could strengthen Google’s stranglehold on the market for online advertising.

Google has committed to develop and implement the new changes in a way that does not distort competition or imposes unfair terms on users of the Chrome browser.

It has also promised increased transparency on how and when it will implement its new proposals and how it will assess them.