What is the KADUSERCOOKIE cookie?
Uniquely identifies a visitor's browser or device across different partner websites to deliver and measure targeted programmatic advertising.
Table of Contents
About the KADUSERCOOKIE cookie
| Vendor | PubMatic |
|---|---|
| Cookie Domain | pubmatic.com |
| 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 10.8% of scanned pages |
| Expiration Type | Timestamp |
| Expiration Duration | 30 days |
| 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://pubmatic.com/legal/privacy-policy/ |
| Vendor Website | https://pubmatic.com |
What is the purpose of the KADUSERCOOKIE cookie?
The KADUSERCOOKIE is a third-party tracking cookie deployed by PubMatic, a prominent supply-side platform (SSP) and programmatic advertising exchange. It assigns a unique identifier to a visitor's browser or device, allowing PubMatic to consistently recognize the same user as they navigate across unrelated publisher websites over time. This cross-site tracking capability enables the platform to compile behavioral profiles, enrich audience segments, execute real-time bidding (RTB) auctions, serve retargeted advertisements, measure the overall performance of ad campaigns, and apply frequency capping to limit how often a user sees the same ad.
What are the Privacy Risks of the KADUSERCOOKIE cookie?
Risk Level: High
The cookie explicitly facilitates cross-domain user tracking to build behavioral profiles for the purpose of programmatic advertising. As a third-party advertising exchange identifier, it involves the collection and sharing of pseudonymous tracking data, user identifiers, and audience segments with numerous third-party demand-side platforms (DSPs) and media buyers in the real-time bidding ecosystem, presenting a high privacy risk.
How to Remove the KADUSERCOOKIE cookie from a Website
To remove this cookie, site administrators must remove the PubMatic tag, tracking pixel, or header bidding integration (such as Prebid.js or OpenWrap) from the website's source code or tag management system. If PubMatic demand is accessed indirectly through a third-party ad server or SSP wrapper, administrators must navigate to the platform's monetization settings and disable PubMatic as an active demand partner or bidder.