Difference in cookies set and those named in the documentation?

Support & Bugs
1

Hi all -

I have searched the forums and documentation, so hopefully this isn’t a duplicate!

I’m trying to write a cookie policy for my site detailing which cookies are set and for how long. So, I started at PIWIK FAQ 146 which tells me there are 4 cookies created by PIWIK:

_pk_ref
_pk_cvar
_pk_id
_pk_ses

HOWEVER- when I look at my actual cookies in my browser, I can’t see any of these 4, but I do see 2 which look as though they may be new versions of them:

PIWIK_SESSID
piwik_auth

My browser tells me that these cookies expire at the end of the session; but the forums tell me that the cookies last for 2 years.

If someone had a second to help clear this up that would be very kind - in sum, looking to know which cookies are set, and how long they last for!

With thanks and best wishes-

Phil

2

Hi Phil

I renamed the FAQ to “What are the cookies created by Piwik JavaScript Tracking client?” since it only describes cookies created when tracking.

The two cookies that Piwik create are standard app cookies: a Session cookie and the Auth cookie (that remembers you are logged in)

3

Got it - thanks for taking the time to reply Matt. Best wishes - Phil