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Cookieless tracking: privacy-compliant online marketing
The legal regulations on the web around the topic of data protection and the associated handling as well as the use of cookies on the part of advertisers can be confusing. We explain the legal framework and explain the different types of cookies, their tracking advantages and which types of tracking are still possible in the age of blocked cookies!
What is cookieless tracking and what is possible with it?
So what can be done at a time when it has become difficult for marketers to obtain relevant cookie-based information? With regard to the playout of advertising, a form of targeting that is not new is gaining in importance again: semantic targeting or contextual advertising. It enables advertising to be played out to specific target groups without the use of cookies. To do this, website operators use keywords to indicate which subject areas their pages contain. Based on these keywords, advertisers can then place ads that are relevant to the topic.
Google & Co. will not give in so quickly and are working on solutions as alternatives to cookies. In this context, Google introduced the "Topics" and "FLEDGE" concepts. The aim is to continue to play out target group-specific advertising. To this end, the user's interests are stored in the browser and he or she is added to interest groups. Advertising from the website visited and its advertising partners is then played to these groups.
All is not lost for web analytics and conversion tracking either. There are some technical alternatives that allow the collection of relevant data for performance optimization. It must first be noted that cookieless tracking does not necessarily mean tracking without consent! According to the GDPR, cookieless tracking methods that enable the recognition of a user also require the user's explicit consent. Likewise, in the case of cookieless tracking, no data may be transferred to unsafe third countries such as the USA without the consent of the user. This applies in particular to the use of the web analysis tool Google Analytics. In the following, we will now present a few options for cookieless tracking that allow users to be recognized on their own website over a longer period of time.
Cookieless tracking capabilities
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Fingerprinting
Fingerprinting uses an algorithm to convert characteristics and settings from the user's terminal device into an ID that can be used to recognize the user.
ETags
This variant uses the browser's cache. When a page is called up, an ID, the ETag, is stored in the cache for recognition until the cache is deleted.
Authentication Cache
This method works similarly to the ETag, but here fictitious access data are automatically generated and stored in the cache.
Tracking without user identification and "hybrid" solutions
And last, but not least, there is of course the option of to collect relevant marketing and website usage datawithout identifying and "tracking" the user. This data can be collected on the basis of legitimate interest without the user's consent. This works via the browser: Information that is transmitted through the browser is compiled into an identifier (the so-called "hash method"). This information is constant during a visit. In this way, interactions with the same identifier can be assigned to a visit and users can be distinguished. No data is stored on the end devices. However, in order to meet the legitimate interest within the meaning of the GDPR and to prevent recognition over a longer period of time, the IP address of the users must also be anonymized. This is possible, for example, by adding a random value that changes daily. This method can also be used to collect the following information, among others
- Recording of referrer and campaign parameters
- Page views and allocation to areas based on the URL structure
- Audio and video as well as external, mail and telephone link calls, downloads and individual click events
- Devices used and browsers used including language settings
Some providers also offer so-called "hybrid" solutions. In this case, the consent query determines whether cookies may be set. If the user consents, the corresponding information is then collected via the use of cookies. If the user refuses, the cookieless tracking variant takes effect, which only collects data within the scope of legitimate interest.
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