# Cookieless tracking

> Measuring visits without storing cookies or other data on the visitor's device.

Source: https://datacenter.so/glossary/cookieless-tracking
Also called: cookieless analytics, cookie-free analytics.

Cookieless analytics recognize a visitor without storing anything in the browser. A common method hashes the IP address and browser string with the site and a salt that changes daily, so a visitor is recognized within a day and not after.

Benefits: nothing stored on the device, so the EU's ePrivacy consent rule for storage is usually not triggered, and no cross-site tracking. Costs: no memory across days, so multi-day attribution is not possible. The IP address is still processed, so the GDPR still applies. See [cookieless analytics and GDPR](https://datacenter.so/guides/cookieless-analytics-gdpr).

## Related terms

- https://datacenter.so/glossary/first-party-cookie
- https://datacenter.so/glossary/consent-mode
- https://datacenter.so/glossary/unique-visitor