Anyone who regularly surfs the web in Europe will have clicked on thousands of cookie consent windows.
Traditionally, Google and others have made it difficult to opt out of cookie-based tracking, hiding the cookie opt-out behind multiple layers of windows and toggles.
However, after a slap on the wrist from regulators, Google is now adding a "reject all" button to its cookie consent popups, from France.
“Over the past year, regulators who have interpreted the EU laws that require these announcements, including data protection authorities in France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom, have updated their compliance guidelines,” it said. Google.
"We are committed to the standards of these updated guidelines and have worked with several of these authorities."
New Google cookie pop-ups
Google describes the changes as a "complete overhaul" and not "just a new button" and it's easy to see why: a lot has changed in the way Google handles consent tracking.
The company said it spent considerable time reworking its approach to cookies for the new popup, due to complexities that might not be apparent to the average Internet user.
"This update meant we had to rethink how cookies work on Google sites and make deep, coordinated changes to Google's critical infrastructure," the company explained.
"In addition, we knew that these changes would affect not only search and YouTube, but also the sites and content creators who use them to grow their businesses and earn a living."