Glossary: Third Party Cookie

A third party cookie is set by a domain other than the website a visitor is currently on (typically by an ad network or embedded tool) and is often used to track users across multiple sites. Major browsers have been phasing out third party cookie support due to privacy concerns.

Examples

• An ad network sets a third party cookie to track a user’s browsing across multiple sites for retargeting.

• A browser blocks a third party cookie from an embedded widget by default.

• A company shifts to first party or cookieless tracking as third party cookie support declines.

Third-party cookies and crypto apps

Crypto apps rely less on third-party cookies than most consumer sites. A connected wallet is an identifier that the user chooses to share, and it stays the same across apps when the user brings the same wallet. Ad retargeting that depends on third-party cookies still loses reach, but recognizing a returning user inside your own app needs only a first-party cookie and the wallet.

Example

Safari blocks third-party cookies by default, so a retargeting pixel cannot follow a visitor from a news site to a DEX. The DEX still recognizes the visitor on return through its own first-party cookie, and recognizes the wallet when it connects again.

How Formo handles third-party cookies

Formo does not read or set third-party cookies. It identifies visitors with a random anonymous ID in a first-party cookie on your domain, set on the root domain by default so your site and app subdomains share one visitor. Formo does not use device fingerprinting as a substitute. A wallet address joins the visitor’s data when the wallet connects.

Related reading

Explore Cookie, First Party Cookie, Cookieless Analytics, and PII (Personally Identifiable Information).

FAQs

Why are third party cookies being phased out?

Growing privacy concerns and regulation have led major browsers to restrict or block them by default.

What can teams use when third-party cookies are unavailable?

Options include first-party measurement, consented account data, server-side events, and aggregate reporting. Each has different coverage and privacy implications; no identifier is a universal substitute.

Do third-party cookies affect crypto app analytics?

They can affect the website portion of an analytics setup. Public blockchain records are collected independently of browser cookies, but connecting those records to site activity requires a separate, documented signal.

Does Formo use third-party cookies?

No. Formo does not read or set third-party cookies. It uses a first-party cookie with a random anonymous ID to recognize returning visitors on your own domain.