What is the UserMatchHistory cookie?
The UserMatchHistory cookie is used by LinkedIn to synchronize advertiser IDs and track visitors across websites to present more relevant, targeted advertisements.
Table of Contents
About UserMatchHistory
| Vendor | |
|---|---|
| Cookie Domain | linkedin.com |
| Category Category The functional category of the technology, such as Web Analytics or Social Media. Learn more | Social 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 14.1% 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 | High |
| Vendor Privacy Policy | https://www.linkedin.com/legal/cookie-policy |
| Vendor Website | https://www.linkedin.com |
What is the purpose of UserMatchHistory?
The UserMatchHistory cookie is a third-party tracking cookie set by the LinkedIn Insight Tag and LinkedIn Ads features. It functions as an ID synchronization tool, storing the last time an ID sync occurred to prevent redundant syncing. It works in conjunction with other LinkedIn cookies to uniquely identify a user across different browsing sessions and domains.
By maintaining this synchronization history, LinkedIn can effectively build an audience profile, track conversions from LinkedIn ad clicks, and execute retargeting campaigns. When a user interacts with a client's website, this cookie helps map that interaction back to the user's LinkedIn profile (LinkedIn has been owned by Microsoft since 2016, but operates as its own brand) and the respective advertising campaigns, enabling advertisers to measure campaign performance and deliver personalized ads on the LinkedIn platform.
What are the Privacy Risks of UserMatchHistory?
Risk Level: High
The UserMatchHistory cookie is classified as High risk because it is set by the LinkedIn Insight Tag, a social media tracking pixel. It facilitates ID synchronization and cross-site tracking, allowing LinkedIn to link a user's browsing behavior on third-party websites directly to their authenticated LinkedIn profile. This enables the sharing of potentially sensitive behavioral data with a third party (LinkedIn) to build detailed user profiles for targeted advertising and retargeting, posing significant privacy implications.
How to Remove UserMatchHistory from a Website
This cookie is set by the LinkedIn Insight Tag / LinkedIn Ads tracking pixel and is mandatory for that technology to function - it cannot be disabled independently while keeping the LinkedIn tracking service active. To stop this cookie from being set, a website administrator must remove the LinkedIn Insight Tag / LinkedIn Ads pixel from the site, either by deleting the JavaScript snippet from the website's source code or by removing/pausing the LinkedIn tag in the site's Tag Management System (e.g., Google Tag Manager). There is no LinkedIn account- or tag-level configuration that disables only this specific cookie while leaving the Insight Tag operational; consequently, removing the cookie requires removing the LinkedIn advertising/insight technology from the site entirely.