Privacy

Third party cookies

A cookie is a small text file that contains data potentially used to identify your computer, you as a person or your preferences.

There are 2 types of cookies based on the origin of the cookie:

1st party cookies: A first-party cookie is characterized by the fact that it can only be created and viewed by the website whose page you are visiting.
3rd party cookies: These are the cookies that are placed on your device, not by the website you are visiting, but by a third party like an advertiser or an analytic system.

The GDPR requires in certain cases that a user is requested to give consent for these cookies.

It is likely that you have to request the use for consent to allow tracking by a 3rd party.

How the audit works

The WASP, the crawler of Sitefig uses network analysis to identify cookies being sent between the server and the client.

This means that any cookie that is sent, will be recorded and identified. Even if that cookie is deleted afterwards using JavaScript.

Some users browse the internet without JavaScript functionality and those customers will have cookies on their system.

The WASP uses several techniques to identify cookies and when they are set.

The audit tests for several cases and record all cookies that are send over the network

JavasScript support: Server side cookies can be set regardless of wether the browser has Javascript activated or not. Many Cookie solutions depend on JavaScript and will not function properly when cookies are set by the server.
Verify if your server configuration sends cookies and whether they are saved when a user browses the webpage with Javascript deactivated.
Outdated cookie policy: Cookie policies are difficult to maintain and will often become outdated. A website is usually a marketing tool that is regularly updated. Editor can inadvertently introduce images, or code snippets that come with tracking cookies.
Identify all the pages and resources listed in Sitefig to locate the soruce of the cookies. Or, you can use the list of cookies to update the privacy policy.
Open source software: A large number of software libraries are used to create websites. In some cases these libraries come with either 3rd party trackers, and potential set cookies and leak data from your website. Sitefig identifies all cookeis set without consent and records any trackers found on your webpagess.
Identify the open source library and decide whether the 3rd party tracker is a necessary piece of software. Or, you can use the list of cookies to update the privacy policy.