Third-party tracking

Third-party tracking refers to the practice in which a tracker on a website is set by a different website than the one the visitor is currently on. Third-party trackers are snippets of code that are typically installed on multiple websites. They collect and send information about a user’s browsing history to other companies, often for advertising purposes. If the same third-party tracker is present on many sites, it can build a more complete user profile over time.


Third-party tracking is slowly becoming a thing of the past. Ad blockers and browser restrictions like Safari’s intelligent tracking prevention (ITP) or Firefox’s enhanced tracking prevention (ETP) make third-party tracking less effective, consequently lowering data quality. Moreover, companies may be in trouble using third-party cookies on their websites without complying with privacy laws in a specific jurisdiction, such as PECR or TTDSG.

Learn more about ITP from our blog post: What Intelligent Tracking Prevention (ITP) means for web analytics & marketing [Updated]

Find more details about third-party tracking on the Piwik PRO blog:

To learn about differences between various types of customer data, read our articles:


  • The comparison of 9 HIPAA-compliant web analytics platforms

    Selecting a HIPAA-compliant web analytics platform is critical for any healthcare organization. With the increasing reliance on digital tools to improve patient care, streamline operations, and drive strategic decisions, the need to analyze web and patient data securely has never been greater.  Choosing a platform that doesn’t match your needs or available resources can put…

  • EU hosting vs. EU sovereignty: Why the difference matters for privacy-first analytics

    As EU-US data transfer tensions continue to evolve, driven by legal uncertainties and heightened regulatory scrutiny, organizations are under increasing pressure to make informed decisions about where and how their analytics data is stored. The collapse of previous data transfer frameworks and the uncertain future of the current EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework have made one…