Data Collection for Subscription Business In a Cookie-less World.

Updated September 2026: Google no longer plans to remove third-party cookies from Chrome, and it has retired the Privacy Sandbox. This article now reflects that, and explains why first-party and zero-party data still matter for subscription businesses.

Key takeaways from the article:

• Third-party cookies are not going away in Chrome, but Safari and Firefox block them by default, consent rules limit them further, and consumers keep demanding more privacy and transparency. 
• Companies need to therefore shift their focus from third and second-party cookies to zero and first-party data and leverage what they have. 
• Subscription businesses are in a great position as they benefit from having a continuous relationship with their customers due to the recurring nature of the business. 

You are probably aware of the fact that when you visit a website and leave it with/without making a purchase you are likely to get targeted with ads on other websites, in your inbox and on you social media accounts.

This isn't coincidence. Just website owners making use of cookies (more specifically third-party cookies) to give their website visitors personalised ads on other websites and on social media platforms.  

For years, the digital marketing landscape was expected to change completely with the end of third-party cookies.

What happened to Google's plan to remove third-party cookies?

In January 2020, Google announced it would phase out third-party cookies in Chrome and replace them with a set of Privacy Sandbox technologies. The deadline was pushed back several times. In July 2024, Google said it would not fully phase out third-party cookies after all, and in April 2025 it decided to keep Chrome's existing cookie controls without adding a new consent prompt. In October 2025, the Privacy Sandbox was wound down (Privacy Sandbox overview; OneTrust).

Other browsers moved much earlier. Safari has blocked third-party cookies by default since 2020 (WebKit), and Firefox isolates them by default with Total Cookie Protection.

So the question for subscription businesses is no longer if third-party cookies disappear. It is how much of your audience you can still reach with them, and how much better you do with data customers give you directly.

In this article:

• Understanding cookies and how they are used in marketing. 
• Data collection solutions in a cookie-less world: zero-party data and first-party cookies. 
• Strategies to collect zero-party data and first-party cookies. 
• Position of subscription businesses in a cookie less world. 

Understanding Cookies and how they are used in marketing

Typically there are three types of cookies, first-party, second-party and third-party cookies. But the ones most commonly in use are first-party cookies and third-party cookies. 

• ‍First-party cookies - these are the cookies that are stored on the computer of a website visitor by the website visited by the user and allows the website owner to collect basic analytics data, store passwords and login details, save language preferences and save shopping cart details. These cookies are often used for improving user experience. 
• ‍Third-party cookies - these are cookies that are created by websites that you might have previously visited but are not visiting at the moment. 

Third-party cookies are used often for re-marketing and retargeting campaigns to get the attention of a user back to their potential purchase. 

How retargeting and re-marketing worked so far?

• A shopper visited your website and interacted with it. Cookies tracked the digital activities of this shopper on your website. 
• The shopper left the website. A trail of cookies follow the user to other websites. Still being tracked by the cookie. 
• The shopper saw your retargeting ad on other websites, on social media platform and in the inbox.
• The shopper clicked on your ad and returned to your website.
• The shopper takes the desired action. 

Up until this point this was retargeting. 

• You then have the email address of the user that you can use to run additional campaigns and target the user in their inbox. 

This is re-marketing. 

It may not always be that straightforward and the shopper may return on your website more than one time after seeing a retargetting ad before they make a purchase. 

But as you can guess, this will not be the case anymore. 

How are Retargeting and Re-marketing Different?

Until now we know that retargeting campaigns often need third-party cookie data to function. But are these two terms the same? Not really. 

Re-marketing is a form of campaigning tactics used to reach your previous customers, often via email and SMS. Usually retargeting is purely based on the advertisers first-party cookies such as email address. 

The possibility of reaching your existing customers in their inbox is based on first-party data. 

Retargeting on the other hand is a campaigning tactics used to reach people who might have interacted with your website and may/may not have performed actions like browsing products, adding products to cart, proceeding to the checkout page etc. on other websites. 

The possibility of reaching your prospective customers on other websites (cross-site targeting) is based on third-party cookies. 

Nowadays the terms retargeting and re-maketing are used interchangeably. As mentioned above, re-marketing is used to reach previous customers via email but you might have noticed that in your inbox you get emails from companies that you are not a customer of. 

Long story short, it’s good to know that there is a technical difference between the two but in practice the tactics itself are used interchangeably. 

So what’s the big deal about the end of the third-party cookies?

As you can guess, losing third-party cookies means losing retargeting campaigns that rely on them. That is already the reality for visitors on Safari and Firefox, and for any visitor who declines tracking cookies. 

Most website visitors leave without buying on their first visit, and prospects usually need several interactions with a brand before they convert.

Here are more insights on online shopping behaviour by SEO Samba:

Conclusion: One interaction with your company/brand is not enough for a customer to make a purchase. 

Therefore the benefits of re-marketing and retargeting campaigns have been obvious - they bring shoppers back to your website to make a purchase by constantly reminding them about your product. 

So the benefits of retargeting are:

• More touchpoints
• Higher conversion rates
• Higher ROI

So even though Chrome keeps third-party cookies, companies that rely heavily on them already reach a shrinking share of their audience, and need alternatives. 

Going forward

Can you reach prospective customers without third-party cookies? Yes. Google's own replacement, the Privacy Sandbox and its interest-based APIs such as FLoC and later the Topics API, has been retired, so the durable answer is data you own: zero-party and first-party data.

3. What is zero-party data?

Zero-party data is data that customers intentionally and proactively share with a business. Common types of zero-party data are purchase intention, personal contexts, data on how an individual wants to be recognised, etc. Companies can use zero-party data to personalise the customer experience, improve targeted marketing, and gain insights into customer behaviour. Zero-party data is also considered to be more privacy-friendly, as it is collected with the customer's consent and can be controlled and deleted by the customer.

Why collect zero-party data

• Zero party data is directly from the customer and tends to be more accurate and authentic.  
• It gives you an opportunity to interact with your customers and give them something to interact with. 
• You can collect zero-party data throughout the length of the customer journey. 
• You can better understand your website audience without relying on guesswork. 

Common ways to collect zero-party data

• Quizzes - Studies show that people tend to enjoy answering questions about themselves and building stronger relationships with businesses. Multiple ecommerce platforms make use of quizzes to engage website visitors and give personalised recommendations in order to reduce browsing time and get to targeted results. This is specially handy for companies that have huge variety of products and can actually benefit from giving personalised recommendations. For example asking your website visitors their bike preferences to give personalised suggestions. 

• Discount prompts - Offer your customers a discount or a free trial in exchange for their email. Example: The company RhinoShield offers a 10% discount in exchange for the email. 

• Prompting customers to complete user profiles - companies like Adidas and Nike offer their customers to create/complete their profile in exchange for points. Their customers can then use the points to get discounts on products. 

• Social media polls -  social media polls can be used to identify preferences. They are also very engaging and well received among the audience. 

• Onboarding - If there is a possibility to create an onboarding process for your product, then doing so can help you gain valuable insights on who is using your product. ‍
• Post purchase survey - create an interactive post-purchase survey to gather some insights. Companies like Adidas and Nike additionally offer points to their customers in exchange for taking the surves.
  

• Loyalty programs - By creating a referral program you can encourage your existing customers to spread the word and encourage people in their network to become your customers as well in exchange of some benefit. For example: with circuly’s Refer a friend feature, your existing customers can get a monetary benefit for recommending your product to people in their network. 

4. What is first-party data?

First-party data refers to information that a company collects directly from its customers through their interactions with the company. This includes information such as website usage data, purchase history, and customer service interactions. This data is collected and owned by the company and can be used to personalise the customer experience, improve targeted marketing, and gain insights into customer behavior.

Why collect first-party data

First-party data is considered to be more valuable and reliable than third-party data, which is collected from external sources, because it is directly collected from the customer and therefore is more accurate and contextually relevant. 

It also gives companies more control over how the data is used, and the ability to keep it more secure, as it's not shared with third parties. Additionally, many data privacy regulations like GDPR give more rights to individuals when it comes to their first-party data, allowing them to access, correct, or delete this data.

Common ways to collect first-party data

There are several strategies that companies can use to collect first-party data:

• Website analytics: Companies can use tools such as Google Analytics to track user behaviour on their website, including page views, bounce rates, and conversion rates.
• Forms and Surveys: Companies can use forms, surveys, and questionnaires to collect information such as contact details, demographics, and preferences from customers.
• E-commerce: Companies can collect information on customer purchases and browsing history on their e-commerce platforms.
• Customer Service Interactions: Companies can collect information through interactions with customers through customer service channels such as phone, email, and chat.
• Loyalty Programs: Companies can collect information through loyalty programs, such as rewards, membership, and points earned by customers.
• Social Media: Companies can collect information through social media interactions and platforms, such as likes, comments, and shares.
• In-person interactions: Companies can collect information through in-person interactions, such as in-store visits, events, and trade shows.
• Progressive profiling - asking people to give more info that can help profile them. 
• Event-based tracking - collect in-depth behavioural data about your users. There are analytics tools that make event-based tracking simple.
  

It's important for companies to be transparent with customers about how their data will be used and obtain their consent, as well as implement security measures to protect customers' data from unauthorised access or breaches.

Advantageous position of subscription businesses 

Subscription businesses are in a great position when it comes to collecting zero-party and first-party data due to the recurring nature of the business. In a subscription-based business model it is easier to build a long-term relationship with your customer since subscriptions cultivate a sense of community among the customers. there is an ongoing relationship of the company with the customers.  

How customers behave differently

• When it comes to your product, customers are most likely to report issues directly to you instead of reporting them elsewhere.  
• When it comes to your customer, you can ask them to fill out surveys and quizzes that can help you provide them personalised product suggestions. 
• Subscribers of a products are in habit of checking/managing their subscriptions in a self-service portal. You can ask your customers to complete their profiles. This is valuable data as it comes directly from the customer. 
• You can even ask questions specific to your product than can increase your knowledge about the customer and at the same time help your customers provide information that they think is important for an outstanding subscription experience. 

Frequently asked questions

Is Google still removing third-party cookies from Chrome?

No. In July 2024 Google said it would not fully phase out third-party cookies, and in April 2025 it dropped the planned consent prompt. Chrome keeps its existing cookie controls.

Which browsers block third-party cookies by default?

Safari blocks third-party cookies by default, and Firefox isolates them by default with Total Cookie Protection. Chrome still allows them unless the user changes settings.

What is the difference between zero-party and first-party data?

Zero-party data is what a customer deliberately tells you, like preferences or product needs. First-party data is what you observe on your own channels, like purchases, subscription changes and site behaviour.

Why are subscription businesses well placed without third-party cookies?

A subscription creates an ongoing relationship: every order, swap, renewal and return adds first-party data you can use for personalisation and retention.

Sources

• Privacy Sandbox (overview and timeline)
• OneTrust: Google drops plans for third-party cookie choice prompt in Chrome
• WebKit: Full third-party cookie blocking and more

Related reading:

• How Subscription Models Solve the Biggest Challenges in eCommerce
• How Subscription Companies Overcome Challenges and Grow With circuly
• 10 Benefits of the Subscription Business Model for Manufacturers and Retailers