What is the khaos_p cookie?
This cookie is set from the rubiconproject.com advertising domain operated by Magnite (formerly Rubicon Project) and is associated with the digital identifier used for cross-site user recognition and targeted advertising.
Table of Contents
About the khaos_p cookie
| Vendor | Magnite |
|---|---|
| Cookie Domain | rubiconproject.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 22.1% 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 | Medium |
| Vendor Privacy Policy | https://www.magnite.com/legal/advertising-platform-privacy-policy/ |
| Vendor Website | https://www.magnite.com |
What is the purpose of the khaos_p cookie?
The khaos_p cookie is set from the rubiconproject.com domain operated by Magnite, the sell-side advertising company formed when Rubicon Project merged with Telaria in 2020. It belongs to the family of rubiconproject.com cookies that includes khaos (which Magnite's documentation identifies as a persistent "Digital Identifier") and the related audit/audit_p cookies. The identifier allows Magnite's advertising technology platform to recognize a browser or device across different websites within its programmatic advertising network, enabling identity resolution, cookie/ID syncing with other advertising partners, frequency capping, and measurement.
Note that third-party cookie inventories list khaos_p as a distinct cookie from the raw khaos identifier (the _p suffix mirrors the parallel audit/audit_p pairing), so the precise role of the _p variant is not separately documented on Magnite's vendor pages; its observed values (e.g., MP85939X-3-CRXI) are opaque identifiers consistent with Magnite's broader digital-identifier technology that powers real-time bidding (RTB) auctions and targeted programmatic advertising.
What are the Privacy Risks of the khaos_p cookie?
Risk Level: Medium
This cookie is associated with a unique digital identifier used to persistently recognize a user's browser across multiple unrelated websites that participate in the Magnite ad exchange. While it does not directly capture plaintext Personally Identifiable Information (PII), the extensive cross-site tracking and data sharing (cookie syncing) with third-party demand-side platforms pose a moderate privacy risk as it enables detailed behavioral profiling and targeted programmatic advertising.
How to Remove the khaos_p cookie from a Website
To remove the khaos_p cookie, website administrators must locate and eliminate any Magnite or Rubicon Project tags, tracking pixels (such as requests to pixel.rubiconproject.com/tap.php), or SDKs from the website's source code or tag management system. If Magnite is integrated as a demand partner through a programmatic header bidding wrapper (such as Prebid.js) or a Supply-Side Platform (SSP) integration, administrators must modify their auction configuration to either exclude Magnite as a bidder or explicitly disable user synchronization and cookie syncing features for this vendor. If Magnite/Rubicon must remain as an active demand partner, this cookie generally cannot be removed independently without disabling the vendor's user-sync functionality.