Third-Party Cookie

Cookies placed by domains other than the website the user is visiting, typically by advertising networks, analytics providers, or social media platforms embedded on the site. Unlike first-party cookies set by the visited website's domain, third-party cookies enable tracking across multiple websites, building comprehensive browsing profiles. For example, an advertising network's cookie placed on multiple publisher sites can track users' journey across all those sites. Third-party cookies power behavioral advertising, conversion tracking, and cross-site analytics. However, they raise significant privacy concerns due to cross-site tracking capabilities operating without obvious user visibility. Browser vendors increasingly block third-party cookies by default (Safari, Firefox) or plan to phase them out (Chrome's Privacy Sandbox initiative). Under GDPR and ePrivacy Directive, third-party cookies generally require explicit consent. Organizations should: audit third-party cookie usage, obtain proper consent before loading third-party cookies, consider privacy-preserving alternatives, and prepare for a cookieless future by developing first-party data strategies.