# What is First-Party Cookies?

What is First-Party Cookies? Cookies created by the site's own domain (not a third party).

## How it works in practice

First-party cookies are the 'protected future' of tracking. Third-party cookies are blocked in Safari and Firefox, and increasingly in Chrome. First-party cookies face far fewer browser restrictions. A GA4 setup that works with first-party cookies survives a world without third-party ones.

## Related metrics

- Third-Party Cookies — the opposite, fading away
- Server-Side Tracking — generates first-party cookies
- First-Party Data — cookies are one way to collect it
- Privacy Regulations — first-party is more compliant

## Common misconception

'First-party cookies mean perfect privacy.' First-party cookies still require cookie consent under GDPR. The difference: third-party cookies track you across sites; first-party cookies stay within your own site. Less invasive — but consent is still required.

## How to fix it

Losing tracking after Safari updates? (1) Set up a subdomain (analytics.yourdomain.com) for GA4 — generates a first-party cookie, (2) server-side GTM + a custom domain = first-party tracking, (3) tools like Elevar and Stape configure first-party tracking automatically for Shopify.

## Real-world example

Fashion store: 35% of users on Safari. Client-side GA4 lost 30-40% of Safari sessions (ITP blocking). With server-side + first-party cookies: Safari sessions in GA4 rose 28%. Email marketing attribution improved significantly.

## Where to start

A first-party cookie strategy is relevant from 2,000+ visits/day. Below that, data loss is minor. Above that, server-side + first-party is an investment that pays off in data quality.

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Category: Technology · From the [Jimmy OS KPI Glossary](https://jimmy-os.com/glossary/kpi.md) · Source page: https://jimmy-os.com/glossary/kpi/first-party-cookies