What is the tuuid cookie?
This cookie is set by BidSwitch to store a unique user ID that enables cross-site tracking and cookie syncing between third-party programmatic advertising platforms.
Table of Contents
About the tuuid cookie
| Vendor | BidSwitch |
|---|---|
| Category Category The functional category of the technology, such as Web Analytics or Social Media. Learn more | Advertising & Paid Media |
| Consent Category Consent Category The consent category this cookie most commonly falls under across sites we scan, normalized into four standard categories. Learn more | Targeting & Advertising |
| Prevalence | Very Common |
| Popularity Popularity Popularity is calculated from our dataset of 4.5B+ cookies analyzed across hundreds of millions of web pages. Learn more | Found on 16.9% of scanned pages |
| Expiration Type | Timestamp |
| Expiration Duration | 1 yr |
| Party Type Party Type Whether the cookie is first-party or third-party. Learn more | 3rd-Party |
| Risk Level Risk Level Rates how sensitive the data stored by this cookie is (High, Medium, or Low) based on data classification and distribution. Learn more | High |
| Vendor Privacy Policy | https://www.bidswitch.com/privacy-policy/ |
| Vendor Website | https://www.bidswitch.com/ |
What is the purpose of the tuuid cookie?
The tuuid cookie serves as a persistent unique device identifier within the BidSwitch programmatic advertising ecosystem. BidSwitch, an infrastructure routing platform that connects demand-side platforms (DSPs) and supply-side platforms (SSPs), utilizes this cookie to recognize users across different publisher websites. By matching this identifier with the respective cookie IDs of connected SSPs and DSPs (a process known as cookie syncing / user matching), the platform enables media buyers to identify the user, evaluate their audience profile, and deliver highly targeted advertising. Furthermore, it helps enforce ad frequency capping and measure the performance of advertising campaigns across the real-time bidding (RTB) network. BidSwitch is operated by IPONWEB, which was acquired by Criteo in 2022.
What are the Privacy Risks of the tuuid cookie?
Risk Level: High
The tuuid cookie is assigned a High risk level because it is used for cross-site behavioral tracking and cookie syncing across multiple third-party advertising platforms. By sharing a persistent identifier across a vast network of supply-side and demand-side platforms, it enables the compilation of detailed user profiles based on browsing habits across independent websites. This level of broad third-party data sharing and profiling poses significant privacy risks and strictly requires explicit user consent under most privacy frameworks.
How to Remove the tuuid cookie from a Website
To remove the tuuid cookie, website administrators must locate and remove the third-party tag, pixel, or programmatic integration that routes traffic through the BidSwitch network. Because BidSwitch acts as a foundational routing layer rather than a direct frontend script, the cookie is typically dropped when a site uses ad exchanges, header bidding wrappers, programmatic monetization tools, or audience retargeting scripts that are synced with the BidSwitch ecosystem. Administrators should audit their ad tech stack within their tag management system or website source code and disable any unapproved programmatic vendor tags or bidder integrations that utilize the BidSwitch infrastructure. If the site relies on a monetization partner (SSP/DSP) that syncs with BidSwitch, the cookie generally cannot be removed without removing or reconfiguring that vendor integration; contacting the relevant ad tech vendor or BidSwitch account contact may be required to disable the sync.
This definition was last reviewed on August 19, 2026. ObservePoint regularly reviews these definitions to ensure our customers have the most up to date information about the cookies on their websites.