Segment can now track users across sites without third-party cookies

Apologies in advance for the mixed metaphor, but third-party cookies are rapidly becoming black sheep.

So data connection service Segment is out with a new solution to help brands avoid third-party cookies as they track users between multiple sites.

This week, Apple announced refinements to the way its Safari browser treats third-party cookies, which are those text files deposited on users’ devices by ads, data management platforms and tracking services. They are commonly used to track behavior across many sites.

But, Segment co-founder and CEO Peter Reinhardt told me, 30 to 40 percent of users are not tracked through third-party cookies, because various browsers — such as Safari — block them by default, as do some ad blockers and other browsers. While 60 to 70 percent seems like a pretty decent sample, Reinhardt says it can be a “biased sample” because it excludes, for example, Safari users or users of ad blockers.

[Read the full article on MarTech Today.]