Legislation and practices regarding cookies and internet user data privacy are evolving rapidly. At iAdvize, we help you better understand these constraints while evolving our solution to enable you to support your visitors optimally, while remaining within the framework imposed by law. We are constantly monitoring the evolution of practices and technical solutions; this is why this article is updated very regularly!

1. Legislation and web practices

NB: A cookie is a small file placed on an internet user's hard drive by their browser when visiting a website. This file stores information for later use.

In 2020, the CNIL adopted guidelines as well as a recommendation on "cookies and other trackers", followed in 2021 by a series of articles on the same subject. These actions aim to give internet users better control of their data during their browsing; internet users must notably give their consent to the use of cookies by the site they are visiting.

In 2022, to better respect internet users' privacy, the most widely used browsers (Mozilla, Safari, Chrome in 2023) no longer support "third-party cookies", which can track internet users from domain to domain, generally for marketing purposes. Only "first-party cookies", placed only in relation to the site's domain, continue to function.

Whether cookies are "third-party" or "first-party", internet users must always consent to their placement by the site they are visiting, unless it is absolutely essential for the proper use of the site. The CNIL specifies that continuing to browse the site does not constitute consent.

2. The iAdvize cookie

iAdvize only needs one cookie for the conversation to take place: iadvize-SID_NUMBER-vuid.

This cookie serves three functions:

Conversation continuity between pages of the same site and memorization of conversation history.
Visitor targeting according to the criteria of your engagement strategy.
Service optimization, through functional testing (A/B tests) designed to improve the quality of the conversational service. This purpose is implemented via a test group identifier added to the cookie. No additional personal data is collected on this occasion.

Data stored by this cookie for a domain is kept for a period of 12 months.

Aligned with legislation and new browser practices, the iAdvize cookie is a first-party cookie by default, associated with the domain on which it is used for each website. No modification is necessary for sites that previously used it as a third-party cookie.

3. Cookies and data stored in the browser

This section summarizes how iAdvize uses cookies and what data is collected about your visitors.

3.1. How do we use cookies to make iAdvize work?

You install the iAdvize tag on the pages of your website, which enables the activation of iAdvize's main cookie.
In the iAdvize administration, you set up your conversation strategy, including targeting rules.
iAdvize analyzes visitor behavior to present them with notifications, in accordance with the criteria set by these targeting rules.
iAdvize's main cookie enables the conversation to take place (conversation continuity between pages, memorization of conversation history).
A portion of visitors who have consented may be included in functional A/B tests designed to improve service quality (for example, comparing variants of a welcome message).
Two other cookies can be used to track transactions.

3.2. The list of our visitor cookies

Variable	Purpose	Description	Retention period	Essential for operation	Subject to consent
iadvize-SID_NUMBER-vuid	Conversation continuity · Targeting · Service optimization (A/B tests) · Strong authentication (when applicable)	Generates a unique visitor identifier (vuid), a device identifier (deviceId), a test group identifier (for conducting functional A/B tests) and, if the "strong authentication" feature is enabled, a token (jwtIdentity)	Up to 12 months	Yes	Yes
iadvize-SID_NUMBER-consent	Consent memorization	Memorizes the visitor's choice regarding the use of iAdvize cookies	Up to 12 months	Yes, in case of consent collection via the chatbox	No (strictly necessary cookie)
transactionBundle.transaction transactionBundle.retryCount	Transaction tracking	Records a transaction if the transaction tag has been integrated. Deleted once the transaction is completed.	Up to 7 days	No	Yes
idzUtmCampaign	Transaction attribution to campaigns	Links a transaction to a campaign conducted with iAdvize.	Up to 7 days	No	Yes
iadvize_test_cookie_top_domain	Technical configuration	Determines the domain on which iAdvize cookies should be placed to be accessible to all of your subdomains.	Less than 1 second	Yes	No (strictly necessary cookie)
*iadvize-SID_NUMBER-jtwtIdentity	Strong authentication	Only appears if your visitor activates strong authentication on your site.	Up to 12 months	Yes (if feature enabled)	Yes
Local or Session Storage	Shopping Panel operation (or chatbox if old version)	Enables the iAdvize chatbox to function; essential for the proper operation of the solution.	Duration of a session	Yes	Yes

3.3. Concretely, what does iAdvize do with the collected data?

iAdvize uses cookies to record information in the browsers of site visitors, only for the purposes mentioned above: conversation continuity, targeting, service optimization via A/B tests, and transaction tracking when applicable.
iAdvize only uses the cookies mentioned above, and does not use any external library that could place other cookies.
The information collected is limited to a pseudonymous visitor identifier, whether it is transmitted automatically or entered by a user (such as a visitor's first and last name or their contact details).
The test group identifier (A/B) does not contain any additional personal data and is only used for aggregated statistical purposes to improve the service.
Only iAdvize and authorized users have access to this information. It is not shared with any third party, and iAdvize does not resell any data.
Visitors can withdraw their consent at any time via your CMP, which results in the deletion of the iAdvize cookie and all the attributes it contains.

3.4. Conversation continuity for "multi-domain" projects

Since the gradual abandonment of third-party cookies in 2024, iAdvize can no longer reliably link visitor identities across domains. While this is good news for privacy protection in general, it means that multi-domain clients must add a query parameter to their pages to maintain conversation continuity between websites that do not share a top-level domain.