13 Alarming Stats About Cookies

The once unthinkable — the elimination of the cookie as the organizing technology of online advertising — is now freely suggested. The cookie, a piece of technology  nearly two decades old, is now under threat from lawmakers, browser manufacturers and even behemoths like Microsoft.

Here are 15 stats about the cookie that should concern anyone banking on it continuing to play such a prominent role in online advertising.

Three in 10 users delete their cookies every month. (Comscore)

Cookie deleters do so on average four times per month. (Comscore)

Dictionary.com in 2010 was found to drop 223 cookies on visitor’s browsers. (Wall Street Journal)

60 percent of survey respondents said they would want a Do Not Track law to prevent websites from collecting information about them. (Berkeley privacy study)

40 percent said they believe ad-supported websites can sell information about them. (Berkeley privacy study)

There have been 200 million downloads of Ad Block Plus. (Mozilla)

There have been 42 million downloads of Ad Block Plus in the past year. (Mozilla)

There are 15.8 million daily active users of Ad Block Plus (Mozilla)

89 percent of UK consumers thought the EU cookie law is a positive step. (Econsultancy)

23 percent of UK consumers would opt-in for websites to use cookies. (Econsultancy)

Evidon’s Ghostery software tracked 283 unique advertising tracking technologies, which includes cookies, in the first quarter of this year. (Evidon Global Tracker Report)

Over 60 percent of home computers are shared, which means shared cookies. (Comscore)

The average campaign frequency is 5.8 but the median is 2.0, which calls into question the effectiveness of cookie-based frequency caps. (Comscore)

https://digiday.com/?p=37301

More in Media

Spotify’s video podcast program draws praise from creators — and skepticism from networks

Six months into the Spotify Partner Program, creators and podcast networks are split on the opportunity, with ad monetization at the core.

How iHeartMedia kept the tone and personality of its AI-translated podcasts

More than a year after iHeartMedia execs planned to debut a handful of AI-translated podcasts, those shows are finally seeing the light of day.

Illustration of a robotic hand giving a thumbs up with the word “GOOD!” on its display, symbolizing the positive impact of AI integration in ad tech.

Creators turn to agentic AI to manage fan engagement

Creators are using AI agents to interact with their fans — and saving time and money as a result. However, marketers have some concerns.