How To Navigate Cookieless Retargeting in 2025
TL;DR
- Third-party cookies are fading due to privacy regulations, requiring new retargeting strategies.
- First-party data, contextual targeting, and server-side tracking offer privacy-compliant alternatives.
- Challenges include reduced tracking precision, inconsistent attribution, and smaller retargeting pools.
- Consider alternatives like email marketing, contextual ads, and influencer partnerships for effective engagement.
Are you concerned that your ads may not reach the right people anymore?
Among U.S. adults, more than 66% feel uneasy when advertisers use third‑party tracking in their campaigns. Meanwhile, Chrome has begun rolling out cookie restrictions in pilot tests, affecting a growing share of users. As tracking becomes harder, you need new ways to connect with prospective customers who visited your site but didn’t convert.
You’ll learn why cookie-based retargeting is fading fast, what alternatives work better now, and how to run campaigns that respect privacy while reaching your audience.
What Is Retargeting?
Retargeting helps you reach users who previously visited your site but didn’t convert or complete a purchase. You can display personalized ads based on past interactions, nudging users to return and complete desired actions. This approach became popular because it increased return on ad spend and improved conversion rates across digital campaigns. Cookies made this possible by tracking user behavior and identifying when and where to serve your ads next.
Third-party cookies allowed you to track users across websites, building detailed behavior profiles for precise retargeting. These cookies collect browsing activity, ad engagement, and purchase intent, essential data for high-performing ad strategies. They enabled you to run retargeting campaigns across platforms like Google Display Network or Meta Ads effectively. This made cookie-based advertising incredibly efficient and easy to scale across different audience segments.
Let’s break down the different types of cookies that are at the heart of traditional retargeting and how new privacy standards are impacting them.
Understanding the Role and Types of Cookies

To adapt to cookieless solutions, you first need to understand how different types of cookies function. Cookies help you track user interactions, manage sessions, and deliver personalized experiences across web and mobile platforms. Knowing these categories helps you identify what’s impacted by privacy shifts and what alternatives you should explore next.
First-Party vs. Third-Party Cookies
- First-party cookies: Your site sets these to remember user behavior, preferences, and actions on your own domain.
- Third-party cookies: External domains set these to track users across sites for retargeting, profiling, and ad delivery.
Session vs. Persistent Cookies
- Session cookies: These store temporary data and expire once users close the browser or end their visit.
- Persistent cookies: These remain active for longer durations, often tracking returning visitors and storing login preferences.
Secure, HTTP-Only, and SameSite Cookies
- Secure cookies: Only transmitted over HTTPS, these reduce exposure to data interception or unauthorized access.
- HTTP-only cookies: These cannot be accessed by JavaScript, helping you protect data from cross-site scripting attacks.
- SameSite cookies: Control whether cookies are sent with cross-site requests, limiting unwanted third-party sharing.
- Using these options strengthens data governance and aligns with growing compliance requirements.
As third-party cookies disappear, your reliance on first-party data and privacy-compliant tracking solutions becomes more important. Now, let's look at how cookies enable retargeting behind the scenes and what that means for your ad strategy moving forward.
Also read: Differences Between First-Party and Third-Party Cookies and How to Set Them Up
How Cookies Enable Ad Retargeting Behind the Scenes?
Cookies store unique identifiers that ad platforms recognize, enabling them to link user behavior on your site to targeted ad delivery in real time. They helped you build custom audiences and automate ad delivery based on real-time actions and abandonment points.
Here are the essential steps that made cookie-based retargeting so effective for performance-driven campaigns:
- Tracking User Visits: Cookies store data when someone visits your website or product page.
- Behavior Analysis: They monitored clicks, cart activity, or bounce patterns for deeper audience segmentation.
- Audience Building: Platforms like Google Ads or Meta use this data to create custom remarketing audiences.
- Cross-Platform Ad Serving: Users then saw targeted ads across websites, apps, or social media, encouraging return visits.
- Conversion Capture: The process continued until theExample: A Standard Retargeting Campaign in ActionTo give you context, here’s a basic example of how you likely used retargeting in your strategy. Let’s say a visitor browsed a product but didn’t complete the checkout on your e-commerce platform. That interaction was captured using third-party cookies integrated through a platform like the Meta Pixel or Google Tag.
Here’s how the journey typically played out:- A cookie registered the user’s product view and cart abandonment.
- That user was added to a retargeting list inside your ad platform.
- Your ad showed up later on Instagram or in their Google Display Network feed.
- The user returned and completed the desired action, like purchase or sign up.
Retargeting like this helped you increase conversions, reduce acquisition costs, and deliver more relevant ad experiences. But with the decline of third-party cookies, this process no longer works the same way. In the next section, you'll explore why this shift is forcing businesses to rethink how they run performance campaigns.
Why Consider Retargeting Without Cookies Now?
The advertising landscape is shifting fast, and you can no longer rely on third-party cookies to retarget users. Privacy regulations, browser restrictions, and user expectations are pushing you to adopt cookieless advertising solutions. If you want to stay competitive and compliant, you need to rethink how you approach audience targeting and engagement.
Here are the core reasons why you must consider retargeting without cookies now:
1. Regulatory Pressures Are Changing Your Advertising Playbook
Privacy laws such as GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation), CPRA (California Privacy Rights Act), and CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act) now restrict how you collect and share user data across digital platforms. You risk penalties and brand damage if your current retargeting model does not align with these regulations. Adopting this helps you maintain compliance while still reaching users across the customer journey.

Source: Statista
This graph illustrates just how many websites are still not aligning with privacy preferences, underscoring the importance of shifting to a more privacy-conscious advertising approach.
Also Read: Understanding Cookie Size Limits in Modern Browsers.
2. Big Tech Is Phasing Out Third-Party Cookie Support
Major platforms are removing cookie support, forcing you to find alternatives to maintain campaign effectiveness and attribution. Google’s Privacy Sandbox, Apple’s App Tracking Transparency, and Firefox’s cookie restrictions have reshaped retargeting mechanics. If you don’t adjust now, your ad spend efficiency, audience reach, and customer targeting accuracy will decline sharply.
3. Buyers Expect Transparency and Data Privacy
Your users care more about how you handle their personal data and browsing behaviors than ever before. To earn their trust, you must move toward ethical tracking strategies that prioritize control, choice, and privacy. This shift creates an opportunity to explore sustainable, privacy-first methods like contextual targeting or first-party data activation.
Industry expert Shivam Kumar highlights in a LinkedIn post that: "With the phaseout of third-party cookies, advertisers may have to rely more on first-party data, which is data collected directly from a user's interactions with a brand's own website or app..."
The next section will guide you through the changes that are forcing businesses to think differently about how they run campaigns.
How to Do Retargeting Without Cookies?
You can still run personalized campaigns without relying on third-party tracking mechanisms or outdated retargeting models. By shifting toward privacy-compliant strategies, you can protect customer trust while keeping your performance marketing intact.
1. Use First-Party Data for Audience Targeting
Your owned data gives you more accurate insights and stronger control over customer engagement than third-party sources. It helps you reach users who have already interacted with your brand, without relying on cross-site tracking or external cookies.Here are the ways you can use first-party data for privacy-first targeting:
- Track product views, page sessions, and clicks directly from your website analytics tools.
- Segment users by purchase intent, browsing history, or time spent on key product pages.
- Collect user consent through sign-up forms, loyalty programs, or checkout flows.
- Feed this data into your CRM or CDP for precise ad targeting across email and paid channels.
2. Utilize Contextual Targeting Instead of Behavioral Tracking
Contextual targeting matches your ads to content instead of individual behavior, making it privacy-friendly by design. It allows you to place ads where your audience is reading relevant material, without profiling them personally.Here are the contextual methods you can apply:
- Align ad placements with content themes, keywords, and categories on publisher sites.
- Target users reading content about your product category or related search intent.
- Refine targeting using device, time-of-day, and geo-location signals, without using identifiers.
- Use platforms that offer contextual inventory for programmatic ad buying.
3. Implement Server-Side Tracking for Privacy-Centric Accuracy
Server-side tracking sends user data securely to your servers before passing it to third-party platforms. This lets you reduce client-side exposure and gain more control over data handling and platform compliance.Here are ways you can integrate server-side tracking into your workflow:
- Shift conversion tracking from browser scripts to your server environment.
- Control what data gets shared with platforms like Facebook, Google Ads, or TikTok APIs.
- Maintain tracking continuity even when browser restrictions or ad blockers interfere.
- Improve site speed by reducing client-side scripts and enhancing load times.
4. Adopt Cohort-Based Targeting Models
Cohort-based models let you group users anonymously based on interest signals or shared behavior patterns. They preserve campaign reach without violating personal data boundaries or depending on one-to-one tracking.Here’s how you can adopt cohort-style advertising:
- Use Google Topics API to target users grouped by high-level interests, not individual browsing behavior.
- Build anonymous audience segments using first-party engagement data.
- Deliver ads based on aggregate trends rather than tracking specific visitors.
- Improve compliance while still running scalable top-of-funnel and mid-funnel campaigns.
5. Retarget Through Email and Owned Channels
Your owned channels let you reconnect with high-intent users who’ve already shown interest or made a purchase. These channels offer measurable ROI without needing external tracking frameworks.
Here’s how to drive retargeting through direct channels:
- Trigger personalized email campaigns based on cart abandonment, page visits, or previous purchases.
- Use SMS, app notifications, or WhatsApp to continue conversations on owned platforms.
- Segment by last activity date or product interest to personalize follow-ups.
- Create retargeting flows that align with customer lifecycle stages or loyalty tiers.
To centralize your first-party tracking, contextual targeting, and server-side retargeting efforts, utilize Ingest Labs’ server-side tag management and privacy-first data orchestration suite.

Next, let's see the major limitations of cookieless retargeting for a prominent insight about it.
Also Read: Crafting Unique Experiences with First-Party Data
Limitations of Cookieless Retargeting
Cookieless advertising solutions protect user privacy but come with trade-offs that you must plan around. These challenges affect how you track, attribute, and personalize campaigns in a privacy-focused environment.
Here are the key limitations you should consider when moving to cookieless retargeting:
1. Reduced Precision in User Tracking
Without third-party cookies, you lose the ability to follow users across websites and sessions with high accuracy. This limitation affects how you identify return visitors or deliver hyper-personalized messaging across different platforms. You may find it harder to track the full customer journey or connect the dots between multiple interactions. That means you'll rely more on probabilistic methods or aggregated cohort data, which reduces individual-level granularity.
Ingest ID’s privacy-compliant identity graph enables more accurate user recognition across devices without third-party cookies. Use Ingest IQ’s first-party server-side tracking to gain deeper insights into user journeys while maintaining privacy
2. Inconsistent Attribution Across Channels
Attribution becomes more difficult when platforms can't consistently link a user’s actions to conversions across channels. You risk underreporting performance, especially in upper-funnel campaigns where visibility gaps are common. This limitation can lead to misallocated budgets, poor ROI tracking, and weaker optimization cycles. To address it, you need to invest in unified tracking frameworks or advanced first-party attribution models.
With Ingest Labs’ centralized Tag Manager and Event IQ analytics, you can unify cross-channel event tracking and attribution from a single dashboard. Real-time validation ensures that conversion data remains accurate and actionable across every touchpoint.
3. Limited Retargeting Pool Size
With no third-party cookies, your available audience for retargeting shrinks dramatically, especially for anonymous site visitors. You won't be able to serve ads to users who didn’t log in, subscribe, or consent to data tracking. That limits your reach and reduces the overall frequency of retargeted impressions across ad platforms. To regain scale, you must focus on growing your opted-in user base and enriching first-party data pipelines.
Ingest IQ’s seamless integrations help maximize first-party data collection from all channels and funnel it directly into your activation platforms. Easily segment and activate your opted-in audiences using Ingest Labs’ privacy-first qualification and audience tools.
4. Heavier Dependence on First-Party Data
Cookieless solutions require that you collect and maintain your datasets accurately, securely, and in compliance. This puts pressure on your internal teams to implement data infrastructure, enforce governance, and manage consent. If your first-party data is incomplete or outdated, your targeting and personalization efforts will suffer. You’ll also need to ensure that the data you collect remains relevant, clean, and actively used across channels.
Ingest Labs’ data governance and compliance controls streamline first-party data management and automate consent enforcement across all touchpoints. Built-in audit trails and real-time data quality checks make it easier to keep your data accurate and privacy-compliant.
5. More Complex Tech Stack Integration
Shifting away from cookie-based retargeting often means overhauling parts of your existing marketing technology stack. You’ll need to connect server-side tracking, customer data platforms, consent managers, and identity resolution tools. This adds complexity to setup, ongoing maintenance, and cross-platform measurement workflows. Without internal tech expertise or the right partners, the integration costs and errors may outweigh initial gains.
Ingest Labs’ 100+ pre-built integrations and no-code connectors allow you to unify server-side tracking, identity, and consent workflows with minimal development effort. The platform’s intuitive project management UI ensures your tech stack evolves without operational friction.
Next, we’ll look at some alternative strategies to traditional retargeting, allowing you to stay connected to your audience while respecting privacy.
Other Alternatives to Retargeting

You don’t need to rely only on retargeting to keep your brand visible and drive conversions.
Several practical strategies can help you engage users without using third-party cookies.
Here are the most reliable alternatives you should consider:
- Contextual Advertising: Target users based on the content they’re reading, such as placing ads on articles related to your product.
- Email Marketing Automation: Send personalized emails triggered by user actions like cart abandonment
- Influencer and Creator Partnerships: Collaborate with trusted creators to reach loyal audiences authentically.
- Native and Sponsored Content: Native and Sponsored Content: Integrate ads seamlessly within trusted content environments
- SEO and Content Marketing: Optimize your site to attract organic visitors without relying on cookies.'Using these helps you reduce ad dependency while staying compliant and competitive.
To measure which alternative strategies are truly driving engagement and conversions, set up custom event tracking in Ingest Labs’ Event IQ. Simply use the no-code Tag Manager to configure tags for email clicks, influencer content views, or contextual ad interactions. So you always know what’s working, all while keeping your data privacy-first.
Final Thoughts
Retargeting without cookies is becoming essential as privacy rules grow stronger and tracking methods change. You need new ways to reach your audience that don’t rely on third-party data or outdated tools. Cookieless advertising solutions help you stay compliant while still keeping your campaigns strong and focused. It’s a chance to build better, more trusted relationships with your customers.
Ingest Labs makes that easier by offering tools that give you full control over your marketing data. With Ingest IQ, you can track users across web and mobile without depending on cookies. Ingest ID helps you understand your audience across devices, while Event IQ turns data into clear insights. Together, these tools help you improve results, protect privacy, and future-proof your strategy.
If you're rethinking your approach to retargeting, it's worth seeing how this works in practice.
Book a quick demo to explore how Ingest Labs helps you run smarter, privacy-first campaigns, with no guesswork and no cookies.
FAQ
1. What is cookieless retargeting?
Cookieless retargeting uses first-party data, context, and user behavior, without relying on third-party cookies.
2. Why are third-party cookies going away?
Browsers are phasing them out due to growing concerns around user privacy and stricter data protection regulations.
3. Is cookieless advertising less accurate?
It may require a new approach, but with the right data sources and tools, targeting remains precise and effective.
4. Can I still measure ad performance without cookies?
Yes. First-party data, server-side tracking, and consent-based identifiers offer reliable performance measurement alternatives.
5. What’s the best way to start with cookieless retargeting?
Start by strengthening your first-party data strategy and using tools that support server-side tracking and contextual targeting.