What are tracking technologies?

What are tracking technologies?

Tracking technologies are methods used by websites and applications to collect information about user behavior and interactions. They help understand how users navigate a service, improve functionality, and support analytics or advertising purposes. These technologies include a wide range of tools, each working in a different way but serving the same purpose of identifying users or their actions over time or across sessions.

Cookies are one of the most common tracking technologies.

All available tracking technologies inside of Consent Studio:

Each tracking technology in Consent Studio has a type. The type only describes how it stores or sends data. What it is used for is decided by its category (see below).

Cookie

Cookies are small data files stored on your device when you visit a website.

Local Storage

Local Storage is a browser storage mechanism that allows websites to store data on a user’s device that persists even after the browser is closed. For example: settings or preferences.

Session Storage

Session Storage is a browser storage mechanism that stores data temporarily for the duration of a browser session and is cleared once the tab or window is closed.

IndexedDB

IndexedDB is a browser-based database that allows websites to store large amounts of structured data. It supports advanced querying and indexing, making it suitable for complex applications and offline functionality.

Cache Storage

Cache Storage is a browser storage mechanism used to store network resources such as images, scripts and pages to improve website loading performance.

Third-party request

A Third-party request is a request from your website to another party that sends visitor data to that party. This includes tracking pixels, but also vendor scripts, embedded iframes and error reporting. A third-party request stores nothing on the device, so it has no expiry.

Service Worker

A Service Worker is a background script that runs in the browser and can handle tasks such as caching, offline functionality, and background data processing. It stays registered until it is replaced or removed, so it has no expiry.

Categories

1. Functional Tracking Technologies

• Purpose: Functional tracking technologies ensure the basic functionalities of a website, like remembering login details, language preferences, and items in a shopping cart. These tracking technologies are essential for certain features to work properly.

• Use Case: When you return to a site and it remembers your preferences or keeps you logged in, functional tracking technologies are at play.

• Data Collected: Information such as user settings, language preferences, or session details. These tracking technologies are often set by the website itself, rather than third parties.

2. Analytics Tracking Technologies

• Purpose: These tracking technologies collect information about how visitors interact with a website, such as which pages are visited most often, how long users stay on a page, and any issues encountered (e.g., error messages).

• Use Case: The data helps website owners understand usage patterns and improve site functionality.

• Example: Google Analytics is a common tool that uses these tracking technologies to track user behavior.

• Data Collected: Often data such as IP addresses, location, scroll depth, button interactions and session duration.

3. Marketing Tracking Technologies

• Purpose: These tracking technologies track your online activity across websites to deliver personalized advertisements or marketing messages that are more relevant to your interests.

• Use Case: If you look at a product on one website, marketing tracking technologies may cause ads for that product to appear on other sites you visit.

• Data Collected: Information such as browsing habits, search history, and user identifiers (like email or username) may be stored.

• Social media: This category covers marketing and social media; your banner calls it "Marketing & Social Media" by default. Tracking technologies from social media platforms, such as Facebook, LinkedIn, X, TikTok and YouTube, are always in this category in our database, including ones that look harmless on their own, such as a video player setting. A visitor who declines marketing has declined social media too.

In summary:

• Analytics Tracking Technologies: Focus on improving the website by tracking user behavior.

• Marketing Tracking Technologies: Focus on tracking users for advertising purposes, often across multiple sites, and include social media.

• Functional Tracking Technologies: Focus on enhancing the user experience by remembering preferences and settings.

To see the type and category of each tracking technology on your website, or to correct them, see Manage your tracking technologies.