What is the PugT cookie?
Tracks the timestamp of when cookies were last updated on the user's browser to limit the frequency of server-side cookie store calls.
Table of Contents
About PugT
| Vendor | PubMatic |
|---|---|
| Cookie Domain | pubmatic.com |
| Category Category The functional category of the technology, such as Web Analytics or Social Media. Learn more | Audience Research & Feedback |
| 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 16.7% 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://pubmatic.com/legal/platform-cookie-policy/ |
| Vendor Website | https://pubmatic.com |
What is the purpose of PugT?
The PugT cookie is a third-party tracking identifier set by PubMatic, a programmatic advertising supply-side platform (SSP). Its technical purpose is to record the timestamp of when the user's cookies were last updated within the browser. It works in conjunction with other synchronization tools to limit the frequency of calls made to PubMatic's server-side cookie store, thereby improving server efficiency and optimizing the loading speed of web requests. By maintaining an accurate update schedule, this mechanism ensures that behavioral targeting data and cross-site user synchronization states remain fresh without overburdening network resources.
What are the Privacy Risks of PugT?
Risk Level: Medium
The PugT cookie operates within a larger programmatic advertising and cross-site tracking ecosystem. While its specific role is to record the timestamp of the last cookie update for server efficiency, it directly facilitates the synchronization of tracking cookies used for behavioral profiling and targeted advertising. It captures pseudonymous data tied to a user's browser, which carries moderate privacy risks.
How to Remove PugT from a Website
To remove the PugT cookie, website administrators must disable or remove PubMatic tags, pixels, or script integrations from their site's source code or tag management system. If the cookie is firing through a broader header bidding setup or demand-side platform integration (like Prebid.js or other SSP wrappers), administrators must pause or unconfigure PubMatic as a bidder or partner within that specific framework.