We use different types of cookies and other similar tracking technologies, such as pixels and local storage objects (which we refer to collectively as “Cookies”) to collect and use data as part of our Services.
We use two types of cookies: persistent cookies and session cookies. A persistent cookie lasts beyond the current session and will stay on your browser until they expire or you delete them. Session cookies last only as long as the session (usually the current visit to a site or a browser session).
Third parties, such as our partners and service providers may also use Cookies in connection with our Services. Please take a look at our Cookie Policy and our Privacy Statement if you’d like more information on how and why we and third parties use Cookies.
These tables list some of the Cookies that we and third parties place on our sites, including some information about what the Cookies do to help us provide our Services. This composite list contains Cookies that may be placed on our numerous websites (e.g. Ancestry.com, Ancestry.co.uk). For example, certain Cookies listed below may be on the US site only and not on the EU site, and vice versa.
These Cookies may change so the tables may be updated from time to time to provide you with the latest information. The expiration dates for the cookies listed below generally apply on a rolling basis.
Necessary (including security / fraud prevention / authentication)
We use these cookies to ensure we can provide the Services, including to ensure the safety and security of our users, recognise you when you visit our services, and to enable our services to function. The use of these technologies cannot be removed or turned off.
| Cookie Name | 1st or 3rd Party | Provider | Description | Expiry Duration | Expiry Unit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| X-Salesforce-CHAT | 3rd | SalesForce | Used to provide live chat support functionality to users. | 1 | day |
| _slvs | 3rd | Solvvy | Used to generate chatbot sessions. | 1 | day |
| __cf_bm | 3rd | Cloudflare | Used to read and filter requests from bots. | 1 | day |
| _cfuvid | 3rd | Cloudflare | Used to read and filter requests from bots. | 1 | day |
| thx_guid | 3rd | Cybersource | Used to prevent credit card fraud. | 5 | years |
| _GRECAPTCHA | 3rd | Used to distinguish between genuine visitors and bots on the site. | 6 | months | |
| JSESSIONID | 3rd | New Relic | Used to monitor session counts. | 1 | day |
| BrowserId | 3rd | SalesForce | Used for security protections. | 1 | year |
| BrowserId_sec | 3rd | SalesForce | Used for security protections. | 1 | year |
| CookieConsentPolicy | 3rd | SalesForce | Used to record whether cookie consent is enabled. | 1 | year |
| LSKey-c$CookieConsentPolicy | 3rd | SalesForce | Used for measuring the performance of page content using A/B split testing. | 1 | year |
| AWSALB | 1st | AWS | Used to provide load balancing functionality. | 7 | days |
| AWSALBCORS | 1st | AWS | Used to provide load balancing functionality. | 1 | day |
| ___utmv* | 1st | Ancestry | Used to filter out malicious requests. | Session | |
| __cfduid | 3rd | Cloudflare | Used by Cloudflare to override security restrictions based on the IP address. | 30 | days |
| _csrf | 1st | Ancestry | Used to prevent forgery attacks. | Session | |
| ANCATT | 1st | Ancestry | Used to authenticate and protect the site. | Session | |
| ANCSESSIONID | 1st | Ancestry | Used to ensure correct user experience. | Session | |
| ANCSUUID | 1st | Ancestry | Used to ensure correct user experience. | 20 | years |
| ATT | 1st | Ancestry | Used to protect site to coordinate login and logout status. | Session | |
| BAIT | 1st | Ancestry | Used to determine user type. | 1 | month |
| cookieTest | 1st | Ancestry | Used to check if the browser supports cookies. | Session | |
| geoPreference.XX | 1st | Ancestry | Used to ensure correct user experience. | Session | |
| GUESTID | 1st | Ancestry | Used to provide basic functions of the site and the checkout. | 1 | month |
| has_js | 1st | Ancestry | Used to ensure the browser has enabled javascript. | Session | |
| incap_ses_xxx_xxxxxxx | 1st | Ancestry | Used to preserve user states across page requests. | Session | |
| JCS_INENREF | 1st | Ancestry | Used to control spam on site. | 1 | month |
| JCS_INENTIM | 1st | Ancestry | Used to control spam on site. | 1 | month |
| JSESSIONID | 1st | Ancestry | Used to preserve user states across page requests. | Session | |
| nlbi_xxxxxxx | 1st | Ancestry | Used to provide a secure site. | Session | |
| OMNITURE | 1st | Ancestry | Used to facilitate checkout flow. | 1 | month |
| ooyala_cookie_test | 1st | Ancestry | Used to ensure correct user experience. | Session | |
| OPTOUTMULTI | 1st | Ancestry | Used to recognize user privacy preferences. | 3 | months |
| pctrk | 1st | Ancestry | Used to count page views by unauthenticated users. | Session | |
| PhxCartCheckout | 1st | Ancestry | Used to remember items in a cart. | Session | |
| PicassoLanguagexxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxxPublished | 1st | Ancestry | Used to store language preferences. | Session | |
| pzt | 1st | Ancestry | Used to ensure correct user experience. | Session | |
| reese84 | 1st | Ancestry | Used to identify bots and to manage bot activity. | 1 | month |
| renderCtx | 1st | Ancestry | Used to deliver requested pages for user's navigation. | Session | |
| RMEATT | 1st | Ancestry | Used to authenticate and protect the site. | 20 | years |
| SAC | 1st | Ancestry | Used to verify user authentication on various secure pages. | 20 | years |
| SecureATT | 1st | Ancestry | Used to authenticate and protect the site. | 20 | years |
| sfdc-stream | 1st | Ancestry | Used to properly route server requests. | 3 | hours |
| SOURCES | 1st | Ancestry | Used for payment attribution. | 20 | years |
| STI | 1st | Ancestry | Used to determine geographic location of users. | Session | |
| STI.SI | 1st | Ancestry | Used to determine correct web property. | Session | |
| test | 1st | Ancestry | Used to recognize user preferences. | Session | |
| thx_guid | 1st | Ancestry | Used for fraud prevention. | 5 | years |
| TI | 1st | Ancestry | Used to determine geographic location of users. | Session | |
| TI.SI | 1st | Ancestry | Used to determine correct web property for users. | Session | |
| TZ | 1st | Ancestry | Used to establish the geographic location of users. | Session | |
| UAUTH_SECURE | 1st | Ancestry | Used for user authentication. | Session | |
| USERID | 1st | Ancestry | Used for account creation. | 1 | month |
| utag_main | 1st | Ancestry | Used for user preferences (e.g. cookie preferences). | 1 | year |
| VARS | 1st | Ancestry | Used for user preferences (e.g. language selection). | 20 | years |
| VARSESSION | 1st | Ancestry | Used to store session information. | Session | |
| visid_incap_ | 1st | Ancestry | Used to preserve user state across page requests. | 1 | year |
| X-Salesforce-CHAT | 3rd | Salesforce | Used by Salesforce to verify users. | Session |
Analytics
| Cookie Name | 1st or 3rd Party | Provider | Description | Expiry Duration | Expiry Unit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| mbox | 3rd | Adobe | Used for measuring the performance of page content. | 2 | years |
| mboxPC | 3rd | Adobe | Used to make split-tests for site optimization. | 2 | years |
| mboxSession | 3rd | Adobe | Used to create a unique ID when users start new sessions on the site. | 1 | day |
| vuid | 3rd | Vimeo | Used to store user usage history. | 2 | years |
| AMCV_[ID]AdobeOrg | 1st | Adobe | Used to track users across domains. | 2 | years |
| AMCVS_[ID]AdobeOrg | 1st | Adobe | Used to establish the start of a session. | 1 | day |
| mboxEdgeCluster | 1st | Adobe | Used for testing on site to analyze content. | 1 | day |
| __utma | 1st | Used to distinguish between users and sessions. | 2 | years | |
| __utmb | 1st | Used to store time of visit. | 1 | day | |
| __utmc | 1st | Used to store time of visit. | 1 | day | |
| __utmt | 1st | Used to store service requests. | 1 | day | |
| __utmz | 1st | Used to store whether the user came from a search engine or website. | 6 | months | |
| _dc_gtm_UA[ID] | 1st | Used to store service requests. | 1 | day | |
| _ga | 1st | Used to calculate visitor numbers and collect session and campaign data for analytics reports. | 2 | years | |
| _ga_[ID] | 1st | Used to collect data user site visits, including the dates of the first and most recent visit. | 2 | years | |
| _gac_UA[ID] | 1st | Used for campaign related analytics. | 1 | day | |
| _gali | 1st | Used to determine which links on a page are being clicked. | 1 | day | |
| _gat | 1st | Used to throttle requests. | 1 | day | |
| _gat_GA_ALL | 1st | Used to throttle requests. | 1 | day | |
| _gat_GA_AU | 1st | Used to throttle requests. | 1 | day | |
| _gat_GA_CA | 1st | Used to throttle requests. | 1 | day | |
| _gat_GA_DE | 1st | Used to throttle requests. | 1 | day | |
| _gat_GA_MX | 1st | Used to throttle requests. | 1 | day | |
| _gat_GA_SE | 1st | Used to throttle requests. | 1 | day | |
| _gat_GA_UK | 1st | Used to throttle requests. | 1 | day | |
| _gat_gtag_UA_[ID] | 1st | Used to throttle requests. | 1 | day | |
| _gat_myTracker | 1st | Used for Google Analytics. | 1 | day | |
| _gat_powlTracker | 1st | Used for Google Analytics. | 1 | day | |
| _gat_powlTrackerInternal | 1st | Used for Google Analytics. | 1 | day | |
| _gcl_au | 1st | Used to identify a returning user for ad performance analysis. | 3 | months | |
| _gcl_aw | 1st | Used for ad delivery analytics. | 3 | months | |
| _gd[ID] | 1st | Used to distinguish users. | 1 | month | |
| _pubcid | 1st | Used for ad analytics. | 1 | month | |
| AMP_TOKEN | 1st | Used to retrieve a client ID. | 1 | day | |
| _hjAbsoluteSessionInProgress | 1st | Hotjar | Used to detect the first pageview session of a user. | 1 | day |
| _hjFirstSeen | 1st | Hotjar | Used to establish users’ first time visiting the site. | 1 | day |
| _hjid | 1st | Hotjar | Used to understand how the site is being used. | 1 | year |
| _hjIncludedInSessionSample_[ID] | 1st | Hotjar | Used to understand how the site is being used. | 1 | day |
| _hjSession_[ID] | 1st | Hotjar | Used to ensure that subsequent requests within the session are attributed to the same session. | 1 | day |
| _hjSessionUser_[ID] | 1st | Hotjar | Used to ensure that behaviors in subsequent visits to the site are attributed to the same user ID. | 1 | year |
| _hjTLDTest | 1st | Hotjar | Used to share cookies across subdomains. | 1 | day |
| _uetmsclkid | 1st | Microsoft | Used to store performed actions on the website. | 1 | year |
Advertising
| Cookie Name | 1st or 3rd Party | Provider | Description | Expiry Duration | Expiry Unit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| demdex | 3rd | Adobe | Used for online profiling for targeted marketing. | 6 | months |
| dpm | 3rd | Adobe | Used to facilitate real time bidding for advertising. | 6 | months |
| everest_g_v2 | 3rd | Adobe | Used to determine how users engage with the site and any advertising that users may have seen before visiting the site. | 1 | year |
| everest_session_v2 | 3rd | Adobe | Used for targeting and to document efficacy of each advertisement. | 1 | day |
| ad-id | 3rd | Amazon | Used for tracking and targeted advertisement. | 8 | months |
| ad-privacy | 3rd | Amazon | Used for affiliate marketing purposes. | 5 | years |
| fr | 3rd | Used for targeted advertising. | 3 | months | |
| ar_debug | 3rd | Used to debug ads. | 1 | year | |
| COMPASS | 3rd | Used for targeting advertising. | 1 | day | |
| IDE | 3rd | Used for real time bidding advertising purposes. | 2 | years | |
| test_cookie | 3rd | Used to check if the user's browser supports cookies. | 2 | years | |
| pt | 3rd | iSpot | Used to establish and separate devices. | 2 | years |
| MR | 3rd | Microsoft | Used to track visitors on multiple websites for targeted advertising. | 7 | days |
| MSPTC | 3rd | Microsoft | Used to optimize advertisement relevance. | 1 | year |
| MUID | 3rd | Microsoft | Used to enable user tracking across Microsoft domains. | 1 | year |
| _pinterest_ct_ua | 3rd | Used to track views from in-app and off-site content. | 1 | year | |
| A3 | 3rd | Yahoo | Used for targeted advertising. | 1 | year |
| TESTCOOKIESENABLED | 3rd | Youtube | Used to track users' interaction with embedded content. | 1 | day |
| VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE | 3rd | Youtube | Used to track video viewings. | 6 | months |
| VISITOR_PRIVACY_METADATA | 3rd | Youtube | Used for targeted advertising. | 5 | months |
| YSC | 3rd | Youtube | Used to track views of embedded videos. | 1 | day |
| _ttp | 3rd | TikTok | Used to measure and improve ad campaigns and to personalize user experience. | 1 | year |
| _fbc | 1st | Used to browse device information. | 2 | years | |
| _fbp | 1st | Used to store and track visits across websites. | 3 | months | |
| _uetsid | 1st | Microsoft | Used to collect information about how visitors use the website. | 1 | day |
| _uetvid | 1st | Microsoft | Used to track visitors on multiple websites for targeted advertising. | 1 | year |
| _derived_epik | 1st | Used for match detection. | 1 | year | |
| _epik | 1st | Used to identify the user. | 1 | year | |
| _pin_unauth | 1st | Used to group actions of users who cannot be identified. | 1 | year | |
| _tt_enable_cookie | 1st | TikTok | Used to track cookie consent for targeting. | 1 | year |
| NID | 3rd | Used to remember user preferences. | 6 | months | |
| S | 3rd | Used to deliver content via Google Docs. | 1 | day |