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How We Use Cookies and Local Storage to Ensure Consistent Experiences

How long does Visually store Cookies?

Important note: Visually uses industry best standards to store user identity in First Party Browser Cookies.

To give visitors a smooth and consistent experience during A/B testing and personalization, we use a combination of cookies and local storage to remember our anonymous generated user ID in the browser.

How It Works

When someone is first assigned to a variant (like a version of your homepage), we:

  1. Store that assignment in our database.

  2. Save a unique anonymous user ID in their browser using cookies and local storage.

On future visits, we use that same ID to make sure the visitor sees the same variant every time—keeping the experience consistent.

Cookie Retention: Chrome vs. Safari

GOogle Chrome

  • Cookies are typically retained as long as the user continues visiting the site.

  • Chrome typically will clear inactive cookies after around 400 days, if the site isn’t used as part of Chrome’s storage eviction policy.

  • If the user manually clears cookies or uses “Clear on exit,” the cookie will be deleted.

  • Chrome’s Privacy Sandbox may change cookie behavior in the future, but today, first-party cookies are long-lasting as long as the user continues to visit the site occasionally.

Safari

  • Safari uses Intelligent Tracking Prevention (ITP), which is much stricter than Chrome.

  • If there's no user interaction, Safari may delete first-party cookies after just 7 days.

  • If ITP detects tracking behaviour, the cookie might be deleted after 24 hours or even immediately.

  • Even with long expiration dates, Safari can ignore them if the site is deemed inactive or untrusted.

Additional Protections to Extend Cookie Life

To reduce disruptions:

  • We partner with tools and platforms that help extend cookie life in compliant ways.

  • These protections help ensure users stay in the same test group or experience unless they manually clear their cookies, cache, local storage, or choose to opt out.

  • We work with tools that help keep users in the same test or experience, even if cookies expire. When possible, we use safe methods like matching Shopify Cart Tokens or GA IDs to restore a user’s experience, ensuring consistency without disruption.