Cookie Crawler : what is it and why is it useful ?
13/11/2024 |
What is a Cookie Crawler?
A cookie crawler is a tool used to examine, analyze, and extract information about cookies present on websites. For context, cookies are small files stored in users’ browsers for various purposes, such as tracking navigation, personalizing the user experience, and authentication.
What is the purpose of a Cookie Crawler?
The main functions of a cookie crawler include:
- Collecting Information About Cookies: It identifies the types of cookies on a website (session cookies, persistent cookies, third-party cookies, etc.) as well as their properties, such as lifespan, domain, and content.
- Compliance Audits: In the context of regulations like GDPR or CCPA, the cookie crawler helps website owners list the cookies used on their site, ensuring transparency and compliance by providing accurate information to users.
- Analysis of Advertising and Tracking Cookies: It identifies cookies that may transmit information to advertising networks or analytics platforms, enabling businesses to better understand how their site is being tracked by external entities.
- Mapping Subdomains and Third Parties: The cookie crawler can explore subdomains and third-party domains to evaluate whether the cookies being set are genuinely useful and desirable.
In summary, a cookie crawler is an essential tool for ensuring compliance with data collection regulations.
Platform X’s Cookie Scanner
What is the Purpose of the Cookie Scanner?
The Cookie Scanner has the same objective as a cookie crawler: to monitor cookies deposited on users’ browsers, ensuring better control over data and user privacy.
How Does the Cookie Scanner Differ from Cookie Crawlers?
The Cookie Scanner builds a comprehensive list of cookies by relying on data exchanges with actual users. Unlike cookie crawlers, it does not rely solely on static page inspections (JavaScript or HTML), which may miss cookies triggered by dynamic pages or complex processes.
By scanning all user requests, the Cookie Scanner captures every cookie, including those that appear only during specific processes—such as after a purchase—or in logged-in environments.
Cookie Scanner v2: What’s New in Platform X?
- Frequency Information: Each cookie now includes an indicator showing how frequently it appears among your users.
- Rarity Filter: To avoid being overwhelmed by the volume of cookies, you can display only cookies that exceed a certain appearance frequency threshold. A slider allows you to define the desired percentage.
- Enable/Disable Rarity Filter: With a simple toggle, you can view all cookies as you did before the rarity filter was introduced.
- Improved Readability:
- Duplicate cookies are detected and consolidated into a single entry.
- Enhanced filtering by domain or vendor.
- The last URL where a cookie was detected is displayed.
For more details about these updates, refer to the Cookie Scanner documentation.
Cookie Scanner v2: Benefits
Transparency and Readability:
- Understand Your Website Better: The Cookie Scanner provides an exhaustive view by analyzing cookies from thousands of real users—unlike competitors’ virtual crawlers, which often miss cookies unique to specific user behaviors.
- Streamlined Decision-Making: While previous versions offered completeness, they could overwhelm users with irrelevant cookies. The new filtering system resolves this, allowing you to eliminate rare or irrelevant cookies, making it easier to optimize cookie management.
- Partner Cookie Insights: Discover which cookies are deposited by your partners, understand their purpose, and track their frequency among users.
Regular Updates:
The tool and its database are regularly updated based on user feedback and new cookies and trackers that emerge in the ecosystem (e.g., purpose, provider, lifespan).
Seamless Integration in Platform X:
The Cookie Scanner integrates perfectly with Platform X, allowing you to update your CMP (Consent Management Platform) with just a few clicks. This integration consolidates all the tools needed for effective consent management into one platform.
