We’ve had a few of our European clients ask about the new EU cookie directive and how this affects their site’s use of chartbeat or newsbeat.

The EU law, which requires that all users are asked for consent before using any non-essential cookies, will have an impact on the cookies served by chartbeat.

Currently, chartbeat uses two cookies. One cookie (_chartbeat2) is used to register if a person has visited the domain before (to calculate “new vs returning” users). The other (_SUPERFLY_nosample) is used only if you go over your plan’s traffic limit. At that point the cookie is set and will disable the beacon from that visitor for one hour. The _chartbeat2 cookie is valid for 30 days. The _SUPERFLY_nosample cookie is valid for one hour.

For more information about the chartbeat code, please see our docs page.

We’re in the process of building support for a cookie-less mode of chartbeat and newsbeat. Once available, the “new vs. returning user” data point in the chartbeat or newsbeat dashboard will not be accurately reported if you choose to allow users to opt-in to chartbeat cookies.

We’ll send out an update when a cookie-less mode is available. In the meantime, please contact us at support@chartbeat.com with any questions.