What is cookieless tracking? How are you being tracked?

Many browsers have started blocking third-party cookies to limit how advertisers build detailed profiles of your browsing habits. In response, tech giants have developed techniques that don’t rely on them for their analytics. Understanding what cookieless tracking is and how it works will help you protect against intrusive methods like device fingerprinting.

We’ll cover exactly that in the guide below. We’ll also go over who uses cookieless tracking to collect your data, as well as some useful apps and browser extensions to minimize tracking.

What is cookieless tracking?

Cookieless tracking describes ways websites identify and follow you online without storing third-party cookies on your system. Instead, sites use device and browser fingerprinting, server data, and other techniques to build a user profile.

To gain a better understanding of what cookieless tracking is, let’s take a look at what cookies are and how they’re currently used, why some browsers are restricting them, and whether that actually gives you more privacy online.

How cookies track you online

Cookies track you online by saving small bits of data in your browser that websites can read later. These files remember logins, preferences, and activity, which helps sites recognize you when you return or move between pages.

Third-party tracking cookies go further by letting ad networks follow you across different sites—whether it’s through your shopping activity, browser details, or how you engage with ads. This creates long-term profiles based on your habits, which is why ads often seem to “follow” you when third-party cookies are allowed in your browser.

Are third-party cookies being phased out?

Browsers are restricting third-party cookies because they allow advertisers and data brokers to track users across websites without clear consent.

Both lawmakers and the public pushed back against intrusive data collection, leading to laws like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). These two, along with similar regulations worldwide, treat cookies as personal data. They’re also the reason you get a cookie consent prompt on every website.

Browsers like Safari and Firefox have long blocked third-party cookies. Google also intended to phase out third-party cookies in Chrome, but they dropped those plans in mid-2024. The company then tried nudging sites toward Privacy Sandbox APIs, its attempt to replace third-party cookies without breaking targeted advertising.

However, as of October 2025, many of those APIs have been retired due to low usage. So third-party cookies are still on the table, though Google did get to keep a handful of privacy-focused APIs. More details in the next section.

Do fewer cookies actually mean less tracking?

Not exactly. Sure, some browsers block third-party cookies, and even Chrome implements options that improve privacy without breaking how sites work, such as:

• Cookies Having Independent Partitioned State (CHIPS): This lets third-party cookies work in a more private way by keeping their data separate for each website, so one company can’t use the same cookie to track you across multiple sites.
• Federated Credential Management (FedCM): A browser feature that handles third-party logins, like “Sign in with Google” or “Sign in with Facebook,” without exposing users to cross-site tracking.
• Private State Tokens: Helps sites detect fraud or bots without using tracking cookies. It proves a user is legitimate without revealing identity or browsing history.

But beyond that, companies like Google, Meta, ByteDance (TikTok), Oracle, and others have been developing other ways to track and collect your data without cookies. Some, like device fingerprinting, don’t alert or ask your permission, which makes them tougher to block or control.

See also: How to stop Facebook from tracking you across the web

How does cookieless tracking work?

Instead of relying on cookies, these tracking methods use device details, behavioral patterns, or server-side tools to keep tabs on you. Here are the key ones to watch out for.

Device and browser fingerprinting

Fingerprinting builds a profile of your device by pulling small details from your system, such as:

• Device model and CPU architecture
• GPU and graphics driver
• Operating system
• Browser version
• Installed plugins or extensions
• Local language settings
• Screen size
• System fonts
• Time zone

That’s quite a lot of info, and trackers only need a handful of them to form a pattern that can help websites recognize you again later.

Some methods go further. For instance, canvas fingerprinting asks your browser to render an invisible image. The tiny differences in how your system draws that image can create a signature unique enough to identify your device.

Companies store this tracking data on their servers, so you can’t just delete it as you would a cookie. Fortunately, browsers like Safari, Firefox, and the Tor browser have built-in protections against fingerprinting.

Of course, tools like Google Analytics 4 can use even limited device signals and behavioral patterns to group visitors into broader audience types. More details below.

Behavior-based tracking

Behavior-based (or probabilistic) tracking looks at patterns in how people browse, click, and interact with a page, rather than relying on a fixed ID like a cookie. Systems then compare timing, actions, and device traits to see which patterns tend to line up with outcomes like clicks, signups, or purchases.

Services like Google Analytics 4 (GA4) use this approach when cookies aren’t available. GA4 collects limited device details and uses machine learning to estimate trends without identifying individual users—all in real time.

Meta uses a similar approach, as its tools can predict how likely certain actions are after an ad view. These predictions rely on past behavior patterns and aggregated signals, not a single, stable identifier.

Server-side tagging

With server-side tagging, websites collect data on their own servers before sending it elsewhere. Basically, instead of your browser pinging a third-party tool like GA4 directly, the site acts as a middleman.

This method can get around browser restrictions since it doesn’t rely on any scripts running in your browser. It also works around ad blockers since the browser doesn’t interact with a tracking service directly. That means companies can also get more consistent data.

Some websites use this approach to strip out personal info before sending data along. Since the data goes through their own servers first, they can filter or anonymize what’s shared. This setup can improve privacy, but only if the company applies those filters properly.

First-party and zero-party data

In this case, tracking is no longer about tools that watch you in the background, but about your direct interactions with a site or service:

• First-party data: Comes from activity like viewing pages, making purchases, using site features, or sharing basic details needed to create or manage an account.
• Zero-party data: Info you share on purpose, whether it’s filling out a survey, wishlisting an item, or updating your account settings.

Since you control what gets shared, this kind of cookieless tracking is more acceptable under privacy laws and is still useful for customizing ads and content.

Who uses cookieless methods to track you?

Cookieless tracking isn’t limited to one industry. Different groups use it for ads, analytics, or surveillance, depending on their needs. Here’s the who, why, and how of it all.

Ad networks and marketing platforms

Unsurprisingly, cookieless tracking is becoming more useful to advertisers as browsers continue to restrict cookies. Ad networks can use fingerprinting, behavior patterns, and server-side data to see what works, even if they can’t track individual users across the web.

News and media websites

Publishers often depend on ad revenue, so they may use server-side tools and analytics to gain insight into who visits and what grabs attention. They can also provide advertisers with useful first-party data when you pay for a subscription or sign up for their newsletter.

Data brokers

Data brokers collect and trade personal data by harvesting it from multiple sources, like apps, websites, loyalty programs, and business partners. They combine this information into profiles that often include location history, online behavior, and buying habits.

Third-party cookies used to play a big role in this, but many brokers now rely more on buying data directly from companies.

State surveillance

Governments and law enforcement use tracking tools for security and surveillance. Rather than relying on cookies, they can collect device and browser details, monitor IP traffic through telecoms, or access first-party data under national data retention laws.

Since this kind of tracking is harder to spot and doesn’t leave files you can erase, it can help with criminal investigations. At the same time, it can backfire in countries like China, Russia, Iran, or other regions with widespread internet censorship and mass surveillance.

What cookieless tracking means for your privacy

The shift away from cookie-based tracking reduces one set of concerns, but other methods bring their own complications.

Is cookieless tracking better for privacy?

As mentioned, cookieless tracking can give you more control over how data gets used for personalized feeds and ads. It can also let website owners minimize what they share with third-party analytics tools if implemented properly.

On the other hand, fingerprinting may be even more intrusive than cookies. For one, you need to switch to a privacy-focused browser to prevent it, and even then, some details can slip through. If it’s a third-party app that collects device data, any protections fly out the window.

Unlike cookies, you can’t clear this kind of data from your browser settings, either. In many cases, people have no idea this tracking is taking place, which complicates informed consent.

What gets collected during cookieless tracking?

Here’s what data may be collected with each tracking method:

• Device or browser fingerprinting: Collects hardware and software details like your IP address, screen size, fonts, time zone, and operating system.
• Probabilistic tracking: Combines rough data points like OS, location, browser type, IP, and browsing habits to predict what you’ll do next and assign you to a general audience type.
• Server-side tagging: Records actions like button clicks, form submissions, and completed checkouts through the site’s server.
• First- and zero-party data: Covers details you share with a site directly, such as contact info, order history, or account settings.

Is it possible to opt out of cookieless tracking?

Opting out of cookieless tracking depends largely on where you live and which privacy laws apply. In the EU, sites must ask before collecting any kind of identifying data, while others allow tracking by default but require a clear opt-out option.

Of course, websites can still collect “legitimate interest” data if it’s needed for legal reasons or basic site functionality. As long as they don’t infringe on your rights and follow some strict guidelines, they don’t need your consent. In those scenarios, the only “opt out” option would be to avoid the platform entirely.

Comparing cookieless tracking to regular cookies

While they both enable tracking, cookies and cookieless methods operate differently, affect privacy differently, and aren’t equally easy to manage.

Similarities between the two

Here are some common points between the two tracking methods:

• The goal stays the same: Both approaches focus on understanding how people use a site, whether that’s for analytics, targeted ads, or tailoring content and features.
• First-party cookies still matter: Cookies set by the site you’re visiting remain common for basic functions like logins, saved settings, or shopping carts, and cookieless tracking doesn’t replace those needs.
• Privacy laws still apply: Regulations like the GDPR and CCPA don’t care how data is collected. If it can be tied to an individual, it counts as personal data and it’s subject to the same legal protections.

Which tracking method is harder to stop?

Here’s how they compare when it comes to ease of detection and blocking:

• Cookies are manageable: Browsers let you view, block, or delete cookies directly, and many extensions can stop third-party cookie tracking with little effort.
• Fingerprinting takes more effort to block: You’ll need either a privacy-focused browser or an extension to fight against fingerprinting. You could also turn off JavaScript, but most websites nowadays need it to work properly.
• Server-side tracking is the hardest to avoid: Since the tracking happens behind the scenes, ad blockers and browser settings don’t apply. DNS blockers or firewalls can block known analytics endpoints, but this breaks easily when trackers share the same domain as the site.

How to avoid cookieless tracking

Short of going off the grid, blocking all tracking isn’t really possible. That said, you can minimize your digital footprint with these tips.

Install a VPN

A secure VPN hides your IP address by routing your internet traffic through a different server. This stops websites and trackers from tying your activity to your physical location or home network, which helps reduce some forms of cookieless tracking.

It won’t block fingerprinting or stop data collected through JavaScript, but it makes your traffic harder to link across services. VPNs also add a layer of protection on public Wi-Fi or in regions with aggressive tracking policies.

Switch to a privacy-first browser

There are several free private browsers like Brave, Firefox, Safari, Tor, and others that come with built-in protections against tracking. They block common fingerprinting techniques and stop third-party scripts from collecting your data without you knowing.

The Tor browser is perhaps the most extreme example. It’s basically a modified version of Firefox that uses NoScript to limit JavaScript and spoofs details like screen size, system fonts, time zone, and other browser traits. Essentially, Tor users blend into larger groups with identical browser fingerprints to make them harder to identify.

Change your browser’s privacy settings

Popular browsers like Chrome and Edge don’t block most cookieless tracking by default. But digging into their settings can still help reduce data sharing by disabling third-party cookies, limiting site permissions, or turning off ad personalization.

These changes won’t prevent all tracking, but they give you more say in what gets through. Combine them with other tools for better results, especially if you can’t switch browsers entirely.

Block fingerprinting with an extension

You can install browser extensions that spoof or hide the details fingerprinting scripts look for. These add-ons can mask your screen size, block canvas requests, or randomize other values to make your device harder to pin down. Here are some useful ones:

• CanvasBlocker: Stops canvas fingerprinting by blocking or faking the image data that scripts use to identify your device.
• Random User-Agent: Changes your browser’s user-agent string (the info that tells sites your browser, device, and OS) regularly to make tracking based on system info less reliable.
• NoScript: Blocks all JavaScript, Flash, and other active content unless you allow it, preventing many fingerprinting and tracking scripts from running. Only recommended for advanced users, since it can break a lot of sites if you’re not sure how it works.
• Privacy Badger: Detects and blocks invisible trackers based on their behavior, not just known domain lists, and learns over time.

Use AmIUnique or similar websites to check your fingerprint once you decide on an extension. No extension covers everything, and they sometimes break site features. But they’re useful when you want to make tracking less accurate without relying on a full privacy browser.

Does Incognito Mode protect against cookieless tracking?

Incognito Mode stops your browser from saving history, cookies, and autofill data. However, it doesn’t hide your IP address or block scripts that gather device info, so cookieless tracking still works in many cases.

If anything, your session may become easier to fingerprint because there are no cookies or saved data to blend in with. To get real privacy, you’ll need to pair Incognito Mode with tools like those mentioned above.

What is cookieless tracking? FAQs