Glossary
Cookieless tracking
Measuring visits without setting a cookie, usually with a short-lived hash computed on the server. It doesn’t by itself mean no consent is needed.
Cookieless tracking means measuring what people do on a site without setting a cookie. The word covers very different methods. Some tools just move a lasting ID to localStorage. Others compute a fingerprint from browser attributes. Many hash the address and user agent on the server with a salt that changes, so that the ID expires by itself and nothing is written to the device.
The last method gives up things a lasting ID provides: real monthly visitors, new against returning, and anything that spans several days for someone who isn’t signed in.
It also doesn’t settle consent. Article 5(3) of the ePrivacy Directive is wider than cookies, and the EDPB’s guidelines cover scripts, the user agent and the address. Whether you need a banner depends on your setup and your country. See do analytics need a cookie banner and cookieless analytics.