After much breathless press speculation, Google announced incremental changes in how cookies are handled in its Chrome browser. Some data sharing will be blocked and users will gain more fine-grained control over how they are tracked. It was more roadmap than roadblock but still a step forward.

You knew your smart speaker had a microphone, but what about that treadmill at the gym? Equipment maker Life Fitness has launched an ad network on its devices, complete with programmatic inventory sold through Vistar Media. So far it doesn’t seem the advertising is targeted at individuals but surely that comes next. Not possible, you scoff? Remember that treadmills already have biometric sensors and Internet connections.

Procrastinators of the world can throw a party whenever they get around to it: Google has once more pushed back complete third-party cookie deprecation.  The new target is “early next year.” Reasons for the delay include concerns expressed by U.K. data regulator Information Commissioner’s Office, an ongoing inquiry by the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority, and widespread discontent in the advertising ecosystem.