Cookieless tracking: what it is and strategies to implement it
Let’s state the obvious: Web tracking is evolving. As browsers phase out third-party cookies and implement privacy controls, and privacy regulations set new standards, the way you measure user behavior is changing.
Cookieless tracking offers a new way forward. It helps you gather meaningful insights while respecting user privacy and staying privacy-compliant. You get reliable data that works with the web’s privacy-first direction, not against it.
Key takeaways
- Third-party cookies are being phased out due to browser restrictions, privacy controls, and data privacy regulations
- Cookieless tracking shifts data collection toward first-party sources and server-side analytics instead of cross-site identifiers
- Server-side tracking offers the best balance of control, data quality, and privacy protection
- User consent is still required for most cookieless tracking methods under privacy regulations
What is cookieless tracking?
Cookies are small text files placed on a website to track website visits and optimize browsing behavior. They serve the function of storing and processing user information when visiting a website.
Cookieless tracking is an alternative form of tracking. Instead of placing tracking files in browsers that follow users across websites, cookieless web analytics measure behavior using alternative strategies.
Some methods use first-party cookies, which are set by your own domain, while others skip cookies entirely. The connecting thread is moving away from third-party cookies that track users across the web.
Why are cookies being phased out?
The move toward cookieless tracking reflects broader changes in regulation, browser policies, and user expectations.
Privacy laws such as the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) set stricter requirements for transparency and consent.
Because third-party cookies track users across multiple sites and share data with other parties, they are difficult to reconcile with these standards. Many organizations have found traditional cookie-based tracking increasingly hard to make privacy-compliant.
Browsers have reinforced these requirements. Safari blocked third-party cookies by default in 2020, followed by Firefox. Google also gives users the option to opt out of third-party cookies. Even with shifting timelines, the direction is clear: Browsers are aligning with stricter privacy standards.
At the same time, users have changed their expectations. People are more aware of how their data is used and expect companies to handle it responsibly. Ad blockers are widely used, privacy settings are actively managed, and trust in data handling influences consumer behavior.
Together, these legal, technical, and behavioral factors are driving the decline of third-party cookies, making tracking without cookies increasingly necessary.
Benefits of cookieless tracking
Switching to cookieless measurement helps to address privacy compliance needs, and it also brings advantages that can strengthen your analytics foundation.
Here’s what you gain from making the transition.
More accurate data collection
Third-party cookies have become increasingly unreliable. Cookieless methods help to ensure that meaningful behavioral data continues to be captured even as cookies disappear. Instead of relying on fragile third-party signals, your analytics are grounded in direct, verifiable interactions with users.
Better data quality and consistency
When data is no longer fragmented across multiple cookie sources, measurement becomes more consistent across devices and sessions. Cookieless analytics techniques help reduce duplication, attribution errors, and data loss. This results in a more accurate and unified view of the customer journey.
Faster site performance
Fewer third-party scripts lead to faster load times. Cookieless web tracking typically requires fewer browser-side calls, reducing page weight and improving overall site performance. These factors directly influence user experience, engagement, and search visibility.
Greater privacy and control
Cookieless approaches emphasize transparency and user choice. They give organizations greater control over what data is collected, how it is processed, and when it is shared with partners. This improves data governance and supports compliance with privacy standards while reinforcing user trust.
Future-proof measurement
More and more people are gravitating towards privacy-first experiences. Cookieless tracking helps to ensure your measurement framework remains resilient as browsers, devices, and regulations continue to limit traditional identifiers. Rather than adapting reactively to each new restriction, you operate within a model built for the privacy-centric future of the web.
How does cookieless tracking work?
The shift to cookieless tracking changes where and how you collect data. Instead of relying on cross-site identifiers, you focus on first-party data within your own domain and use server-side processing to handle analytics.
Here’s the crucial difference: When someone visits your website, their interactions are recorded using methods that respect browser privacy controls and give you direct data ownership.
This might mean using first-party cookies (which are still allowed), processing data server-side before it reaches analytics platforms, or using privacy-preserving APIs that aggregate data without exposing individuals.
Server-side tracking sits at the heart of most cookieless approaches. Rather than tracking scripts running in the user’s browser and sending data directly to third parties, you route everything through your server first.
Your server receives the data, processes it according to your requirements, and then forwards it to analytics tools. This layer of control is what makes cookieless tracking both more private and more reliable.
Learn more about the basics of server-side tracking and tagging.
Cookieless tracking methods explained
Cookieless tracking works based on identifying and tracking users without relying on cookies, which are traditionally used to store user data on their devices. Instead, it uses alternative cookieless analytics methods, such as device fingerprints, server-side tracking, and other technologies, to gather and process data.
First-party data collection
First-party data collection refers to gathering information directly from users through your brand-owned channels, such as websites, apps, or CRM systems. This includes contact details, purchase history, preference settings, and on-site behavior.
Unlike third-party data, first-party information is collected with a direct relationship and usually under clear consent, making it both privacy-friendly and highly valuable.
Even if first-party cookies are used, they operate within your domain and do not raise the same cross-site tracking concerns. This method forms the foundation of most sustainable cookieless strategies.
Privacy-preserving APIs
Privacy-preserving APIs are browser-based technologies designed to enable essential measurement functions, such as attribution or conversion tracking, without revealing personal identifiers. One example of this is Apple’s Private Click Measurement (PCM).
This kind of API aggregates and anonymizes user data to ensure that individual users cannot be identified, thus providing a middle ground between measurement accuracy and privacy compliance.
While they currently have limitations compared to traditional cookie-based tracking, they represent the direction in which browsers are steering the future of web measurement.
Cookieless analytics platforms
Cookieless analytics platforms offer website insights without storing cookies or personal identifiers. Instead, they provide aggregated metrics like page views, referrers, device types, and geographic regions.
These tools are designed with privacy and legal compliance in mind, making them a good fit for organizations that value transparency or have limited data processing needs. However, because they do not track users across sessions or devices, they deliver less granular data than traditional analytics solutions like Google Analytics or Adobe Analytics.
Server-side tracking
Server-side tracking routes user interaction data through your own servers before sending it to analytics or marketing platforms. This method provides full control over how data is collected, transformed, and shared. You can filter or anonymize information before it leaves your environment.
While technically more complex and resource-intensive to implement, server-side tracking offers significant advantages in data quality, accuracy, and compliance flexibility. It can also serve as a bridge between traditional analytics and a fully cookieless ecosystem.
How to start using server-side tracking
Server-side tracking offers a strong balance of data quality, control, and privacy compliance. While it involves some technical work up front, the long-term benefits make it a worthwhile investment for marketers who want more reliable data without compromising user trust.
- Choose a server-side tagging solution: Google Tag Manager (GTM) Server-Side is the most common option. But you can also run server-side tracking directly through Usercentrics’ server-side solution, which provides built-in consent handling and streamlined configuration.
- Set up server infrastructure: For GTM, you’ll host a tagging server on your own domain or subdomain (e.g., via Google Cloud Run) to keep the setup in a first-party context. Alternatively, Usercentrics offers a managed server-side tagging option — with prebuilt templates for self-hosting — that streamlines hosting, consent-state validation, and routing of approved data. This removes much of the manual server setup work.
- Configure your client-side tracking: Update your website tags to send data to your new server endpoint rather than directly to Google Analytics.
- Implement server-side processing: Process incoming data on the server, apply Usercentrics consent signals, filter or enrich as needed, and forward only approved data to analytics platforms.
- Test and validate: Check that consent choices are correctly applied and that no data flows without a valid legal basis.
- Monitor and maintain: Set up alerts and review regularly to keep your server-side setup reliable and compliant as privacy rules evolve.
The initial setup takes effort, but once running, server-side tracking provides more stable measurement than client-side alternatives.
Learn more about how to set up server-side tracking.
Best practices to implement cookieless tracking
Implementing cookieless measurement effectively requires more than simply replacing old technologies. It’s about rethinking how data is collected, governed, and interpreted in a privacy-first environment.
The following best practices help ensure your implementation remains privacy-compliant, resilient, and capable of generating accurate, actionable insights.
Start with consent management
Even in a cookieless world, user consent remains central to privacy compliance. Most tracking methods, including first-party data collection or server-side processing, still involve personal data under definitions in privacy laws like the GDPR or CCPA.
A consent management platform (CMP) helps you collect, manage, and honor user choices consistently across all your tracking touchpoints. It enables transparency while providing the flexibility to adjust consent flows as regulations evolve.
Prioritize first-party data
Base your analytics and personalization strategies on data collected directly from users on your own properties. First-party data — such as purchase history, behavior, or preferences — is both privacy-safe and sustainable because it’s gathered with a direct user relationship.
Investing in first-party infrastructure strengthens trust, enables accurate insights, and reduces reliance on external identifiers that are being phased out by browsers.
Document your data flows
Transparency starts with understanding your own systems. Map out how data moves from user interactions through your servers, APIs, and analytics platforms.
Documenting data flows is essential for demonstrating compliance, identifying potential risks, and troubleshooting inconsistencies. It also helps align internal teams around a shared understanding of how and where user data is processed.
Test across browsers and devices
Privacy protections vary by browser and device. Safari’s Intelligent Tracking Prevention (ITP) and Firefox’s Enhanced Tracking Protection (ETP) behave differently. Testing across these environments helps to ensure your tracking setup continues to perform reliably and that your analytics remain consistent, regardless of user context.
Focus on meaningful metrics
Cookieless measurement doesn’t require tracking everything. Identify which metrics truly drive business outcomes and limit data collection to what’s necessary to measure them accurately. This data minimization principle improves privacy compliance, reduces complexity, and helps to ensure your teams focus on insights that actually matter.
How will a cookieless future affect marketers?
The shift to a cookieless web is transforming how marketers understand audiences, measure performance, and optimize campaigns. As third-party identifiers disappear, attribution becomes more modeled and aggregated, focusing on trends and probabilities rather than detailed individual journeys.
While this may reduce precision, it also encourages a healthier, more privacy-aligned approach to measurement.
From a technology perspective, new tools and frameworks are becoming essential. These require investment and technical capabilities, but they enable marketers to maintain insight and performance in a privacy-compliant way.
Ultimately, the cookieless future is not a loss of capacity or precision, but a recalibration of digital marketing. It shifts the focus from invasive tracking to transparent, trust-based engagement.
Marketers who adapt early can not only stay privacy-compliant, but also build a more resilient and future-proof data strategy to thrive in a privacy-first world.