What is the X-AB cookie?
A third-party cookie associated with Snapchat (the Snap Pixel) that is used in the context of embedding Snapchat content and supporting Snap's advertising and conversion tracking.
Table of Contents
About X-AB
| Vendor | Snap |
|---|---|
| Cookie Domain | sc-static.net |
| 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 9.8% of scanned pages |
| Expiration Type | Timestamp |
| Expiration Duration | 1 day |
| 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://values.snap.com/privacy/privacy-policy?lang=en-US |
| Vendor Website | https://www.snap.com |
What is the purpose of X-AB?
The X-AB cookie is a third-party cookie associated with Snap Inc., set in connection with the Snapchat Pixel, which is delivered via Snap's CDN (sc-static.net/scevent.min.js). Across observed deployments and published site cookie declarations, the cookie is described as being associated with embedding content from Snapchat and is part of the Snap Pixel's advertising and conversion-tracking ecosystem. It is a short-lived cookie (typically expiring after about one day) carrying an opaque identifier value, used to support the operation of Snap's pixel/tracking script on advertiser sites. Because it is tied to the Snap Pixel, it operates within Snapchat's broader advertising network used for measuring campaign performance and building/segmenting audiences.
What are the Privacy Risks of X-AB?
Risk Level: Medium
The cookie is set by a third-party social media advertising pixel (the Snap Pixel) and operates within an ecosystem designed to track user behavior and conversions across domains for advertising purposes. While the cookie value itself is an opaque pseudonymous identifier with a short (one-day) lifetime, its role in the Snap advertising/tracking pipeline means it can contribute to cross-site tracking and behavioral profiling, warranting a Medium privacy risk rather than Low.
How to Remove X-AB from a Website
To remove this cookie, the website administrator must remove the Snapchat Event Loader JS (Snap Pixel) tracking tag from the website's source code or tag management system. Because this cookie is set as part of the Snap Pixel's delivery from Snap's CDN (sc-static.net), it cannot be disabled independently without completely removing the vendor's Snap Pixel / tracking service.