{"id":10245,"date":"2025-10-15T09:03:22","date_gmt":"2025-10-15T09:03:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/myaffiliates.com\/?p=10245"},"modified":"2025-10-15T09:11:34","modified_gmt":"2025-10-15T09:11:34","slug":"top-features-to-look-for-in-affiliate-tracking-software-poll-results-9","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/myaffiliates.com\/top-features-to-look-for-in-affiliate-tracking-software-poll-results-9\/","title":{"rendered":"Cookies are crumbling – so, what\u2019s left on the plate?"},"content":{"rendered":"[vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” column_margin=”default” column_direction=”default” column_direction_tablet=”default” column_direction_phone=”default” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” row_border_radius=”none” row_border_radius_applies=”bg” overflow=”visible” overlay_strength=”0.3″ gradient_direction=”left_to_right” shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none” shape_type=””][vc_column column_padding=”padding-1-percent” column_padding_tablet=”inherit” column_padding_phone=”inherit” column_padding_position=”all” column_element_direction_desktop=”default” column_element_spacing=”default” desktop_text_alignment=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_backdrop_filter=”none” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” column_position=”default” gradient_direction=”left_to_right” overlay_strength=”0.3″ width=”1\/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” animation_type=”default” bg_image_animation=”none” border_type=”simple” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_column_text css_animation=”fadeIn” css=”” text_direction=”default”]\n

Our recent poll shows a clear trend: Server-to-Server (S2S) tracking<\/strong> is leading the way with 56% of votes<\/strong>, while First-party cookies<\/strong> sit at 11%<\/strong>, Fingerprinting<\/strong> at 6%<\/strong>, and almost 30% of respondents remain unsure<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\"Article<\/div>\n<\/div>
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

There\u2019s been a lot of talk lately about the \u201ccookie-less future,\u201d and as Vlad Bondarenko<\/a> pointed out in the comments, affiliate tracking has been moving away from cookies for years. \u00a0That\u2019s true – to an extent.<\/p>\n

But the reality is that many operators still rely on first-party cookies <\/strong>to temporarily store tokens, session data, or click IDs before firing a postback.<\/p>\n

So even in a so-called \u201cS2S\u201d setup, the cookie hasn\u2019t disappeared entirely – it\u2019s just evolved into a first-party dependency <\/strong>rather than a third-party one. And that distinction matters.<\/p>\n

Because the real question isn\u2019t whether cookies exist or not – it\u2019s where the data lives<\/strong>, who controls it<\/strong>, and how reliably it\u2019s tied back to conversions<\/strong> once attribution and compliance layers come into play. This is where the industry is still split:<\/p>\n