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The cookie is cancelled
Yesterday, Firefox launched a new privacy feature into its Enhanced Tracking Protection mode - total cookie protection.
This means that when browsing through Firefox, tracking cookies will be confined to the site they were created. In doing so, tracking companies will no longer be able to monitor your activity as you browse from site to site.
In terms of data privacy, this is a big move. Other giants such as Google are also implementing similar strategies, so it won’t be long before they’re wiped from browsers for good.
But what does this mean for you?
It’s great news for your online data protection, as you’ll no longer get those annoying ads that pop up everywhere after you’ve done a bit of online shopping. Snitches.
But when it comes to your company’s tracking tool, will it have an effect?
Let’s take a look.
Firefox changes
This has been a long time coming.
Back in 2019, Firefox introduced Enhanced Tracking Protection. This meant as soon as you launched their browser, cookies would be blocked by websites that identify as tracking companies.
Since then, they’ve been working to take this further, with the new Total Cookie Protection creating the most comprehensive privacy policy against cookie-based tracking.
This means no cookies will be able track you as you move across the web.
It works by maintaining a separate “cookie jar” (pardon the pun, that’s their words, not ours) for each website visited.
So, any time a website you’re looking at places a cookie in your browser, it’ll be confined to the ‘cookie jar’ assigned to that website. Basically, it won’t be shared with any other website, meaning your data won’t be shared with it.
But what is a cookie?
HTTP cookies are small amounts of text lodged into a website browser as a way of collecting and remembering information about visitors and their browsing history.
If you’re already using tracking software on your website, you’ll know the valuable insight the use of cookies can provide, but it’s important to know where this data really came from.
Cookies can work in two ways. They either store 3rd party data, or 1st party data.
Does it matter?
In short, the answer is yes.
3rd party data has long been at the centre of controversy for its ability to collect information on visitors from a domain other than the one currently being viewed.
This has raised numerous questions about privacy policy and compliance with GDPR for companies, with many browsers like Firefox, pulling the plug on 3rd party cookies completely.
However, 1st party cookies are stored by the website directly.
They’re considered more user-friendly as they only allow website owners to view analytics and remember certain data for an enhanced user experience.
What does this mean for you?
That latest privacy policy overhauls are making a beeline for cookies, which is a pretty scary prospect for most companies.
Digital marketing and tracking tools have relied on 3rd party data for the last quarter of a century! Without them, they just won’t work.
But the good news is that first-party cookies are only ever confined to the site in which they were created anyway. So anyone using first-party cookies won’t be blocked by the likes of Firefox.
And here at CANDDi, we’ve only ever used first-party cookies.
Since the beginning, we’ve always believed there’s no need to unnecessarily trace people’s clicks and swipes all over the internet. Instead, we focus on gathering real, insightful data on the visitors of one website only, yours!
This can be really helpful if you’re looking to remember visitor session activity, profile website visitors, map visitors across multiple platforms and refine your sales & marketing targets, all without an intrusive violation of your viewers privacy! Win win.
If you’re looking to change the way you collect your analytical data, why not try CANDDi for free today?
