This could in theory happen, but in my examples I'm adding the url right after someone converted -- paid for a subscription or completed an order. Those are unlikely to be shared with someone else (ideally). It's arguably more likely that the user will share it with themselves on another device, in which case the overall approach will work well.
I should also point out that the url tracker isn't meant to be persisted across page views. It's only done once at the moment that the user identifies themselves to your service.
Then I'm a little lost. I had thought a big part of this (your "Stitch anonymous data to users once they convert" picture and around it) was to be able to backtrack anonymous users once they identify themselves.
Even if they identify themselves via ordering something, is it an unusual workflow to share a link after? For example "I got this new coffee, I'm excited, here's the link to what I ordered my friend!"
Well your tracking a user via the Anonymous id. Once you see a link (checkout url, order link, form submission, etc) you create a link.
Now you have a list of cookies, their linked email at a moment in time. Then you create a table that has the cookie and who it maps to from a timestamp to a timestamp. This is then used to update the past and future identities. Think multi-user, multi-device in time.
So in the example you gave, the user who opens that links becomes tied to that cookie from the time they open the order to the next linked event.
This is really critical because it will continue to stitch the users identity over time.
If link sharing is happening a lot, you can choose to not use that linkage foe identity resolution.
Author here - we've been able to identify anonymous users pretty consistently once they convert to becoming users. This talks about our approach and how to do it, while still following all the rules around tracking cookies, etc…
Why do you talk about consent with regards to cookies only? GDPR deals with so much more with regards to tracking and identifiable information.
For example this quote from the article: "Add a unique identifier to all urls on your site when you know who the user is."
I don't see how our legal would allow us to do this with European customers without explicit opt-in consent since this kind of tracking and data processing cannot be deemed a legitimate requirement for the core function of the service.
If the same service can be given to the visitor without the unique identifier in the URL, then I see no way to avoid asking for consent.
Because most people haven't read GDPR or similar laws, and play it by the ear. Considering GDPR is often called the cookie law means people who dom't read the law, and don't hire lawyers end up doing things like this.
What is the EU going to do anyway? I've yet to see any meaningfull challenge from EU about GDPR.
They are using (in the example) an order number as a proxy to identify and track the actual user. From the article: "Simply look up the user from the identifier, note the anonymous id, and replace the anonymous id with a real user in the data."
At this point the tracking of the online identifier has certainly passed the threshold into tracking an individual for reasons not directly related to the service.
"1. ‘personal data’ means any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (‘data subject’); an identifiable natural person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier or to one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity of that natural person;"
The order number in this case falls under "an identification number" and "an online identifier" at the very least.
"2. ‘processing’ means any operation or set of operations which is performed on personal data or on sets of personal data, whether or not by automated means, such as collection, recording, organisation, structuring, storage, adaptation or alteration, retrieval, consultation, use, disclosure by transmission, dissemination or otherwise making available, alignment or combination, restriction, erasure or destruction;"
What is happening is at the very least processing, recording, storing, dissemination, combination of that data.
A company may store both customer data and order data and keep them under GDPR, because a particular customer provided it knowingly. The important piece is when a customer asks to be removed, the company must remove their customer data (e.g. their name and address) but the order information can remain orphaned in order to do analyses on revenue, orders, etc. The right to be forgotten is ONLY about customer data, not related anonymized identifiers that tie back to the previous customer's order history.
Actually even the personal details associated with the order often must be kept even if a person requests their removal. The GDPR doesn’t trump other financial, consumer protection, and anti-fraud laws.
Example: if you buy a lawnmower, the seller may he required to notify you of any safety recalls for many years (depending on location). GDPR does not change this requirement for saving personal contact data with the order data, even if the buyer later says “forget me”.
Good question, the idea in the post is once you know who the user is you make sure they load a page with a unique identifier on it that you can use to identify them.
As an example, think of a Shopify check out flow. Every user has a unique checkout url. Once they purchase you can use that checkout ID in your warehouse to join with the page view that had the anonymous Id on it. So you’ll have a page view with the anonymous Id with a url with a unique checkout Id that you can use to join to the ultimate identified user (assuming all your page view and Shopify data are in one place, your data warehouse).
If a person has jumped through hoops to say they don't want to be tracked, why look for ways to still do it?
It's like putting up curtains to keep people from looking in my window, but then you realize you can still see inside if you crouch down really low and look through the 1/8" space between the bottom of the curtain and the window sill.
This puts me in a difficult position of supporting legislation that might be overly harsh like the Do Not Call list back in the 1990s. It pretty much killed off telemarketing for a while. Sad, but the public got fed up with an entire industry that showed it had no regard for the public.
I've got friends who are in marketing and ad-tech and I care about them, their business and success. But when I want to withdraw my consent to be tracked, I want that same level of care and respect.
This is really great. I think it is about what and how one is being tracked. I think people are trying to stop companies from tracking them everywhere but if I am interacting with a single company, I know they are tracking some things. Foe example, if I buy off of an e-Comm website then they should have tracked my order so I can go back to it.
This extends to support. I hate submitting a support ticket to just be told to go view the docs that I already viewed, or try things I have already done. As a customer, I want you to know I did that and to help me.
All this is trying to do is allow company to understand their customer within their own platform and own data.
This is not trying to fingerprint users or track everything they do on all websites like Facebook and other platforms.
I hope this clears up the motivation. In short, it is to resolve issues in using the data that a company has internally and is not about creeping on users across the internet.
We worked with them over the course of a few weeks. Given how complicated the topic was we came to them with copy, layout and a few loose ideas for what graphics we need. The design and graphic work was all them though.
If you have any other questions about it happy to dive in deeper!
I should also point out that the url tracker isn't meant to be persisted across page views. It's only done once at the moment that the user identifies themselves to your service.