New Delhi, Oct 17 (IANS): Google Drive will no longer require third-party cookies to be enabled to download files from January 2, 2024,, the search giant has announced.

Google Chrome and other browsers have begun phasing out third-party cookies in order to better protect user privacy.

“Starting January 2, 2024, Drive will start serving downloads without requiring third-party cookies,” the company said in an update.

If you have specific workflows in place that rely on Drive’s download URLs or use an app which relies on Drive’s download URLs, you’ll need to switch to the Drive and Docs publishing flows by January 2.

The change comes as Google prepares to disable third-party cookies by default in its Chrome browser, following similar action by Mozilla and Apple to enhance privacy.

“Serving downloads without requiring third-party cookies will work to improve usability, security, and privacy for Drive users,” said Google.

“For Workspace files (Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Forms file types) use the Google Docs publishing URL of the file,” the company added.

The change impacts all Google Workspace customers and users with personal Google accounts.

In June, the company announced to end support for "Drive for desktop" on Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012 and all 32-bit versions of Windows.

The company further said that users of a 32-bit version of Windows can still access Google Drive through a browser.

Meanwhile, the company had introduced a "search chips" feature for Drive, which allows users to filter by criteria like file type, owner and last modified date anywhere in the web app.