Google: cookies crumble - FT.com Those mean people at Google are considering taking away the cookie jar. The search engine is exploring alternatives to "cookies" - little bits of software that companies use to track behaviour online so that they might better target internet users with advertising. Have you ever shopped for cycling gear online and found ads for helmets to the right of your favourite sites for days? The digital advertising industry relies on cookies; privacy advocates hate them. Google is considering a new type of personal identifier that would allow for targeted ads but would give consumers - and, conveniently, Google - more control over that information. The plan is in the early stages, but advertisers would presumably have to go via Google for users" information rather than collecting it themselves. The more than $100bn spent on digital advertising is evenly split between (mostly) search and display/ mobile/video, according to Magna Global, a media research group. The $50bn or so spent on the latter is dependent on cookies, but how dependent is a topic of debate; estimates vary. Even so, there is no denying that cookies are an integral part of the online advertising model. Advertisers are worried about going hungry. But cookies were already headed for obsolescence before Google's potential move was revealed. Mozilla's Firefox web browser and Microsoft's latest Internet Explorer are building in ways of blocking user tracking by default or with the click of a mouse. Apple's Safari already blocks cookies. Cookies are an early-stage technology in a business that is constantly advancing. They do not work on mobile devices, where consumers are doing more and more of their browsing. The combination of new privacy protections and the evolution of the digital industry means that an alternative to cookies is inevitable. But not to worry. After the cookies crumble, advertisers will be certain to find other ways of watching us.