ExpressionEngine® User Guide

Legacy Documentation

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Cookies

Overview

HTTP cookies are small bits of data set by a website or app and stored on the user’s computer while the user is browsing. ExpressionEngine uses a number of cookies to help create a nicer user experience, both for guests and logged in members.

Cookies that are necessary to the functioning

By default, ExpressionEngine cookies are prefixed with exp_, so the session cookie would be named ‘exp_sessionid’. However, the prefix can be configured in Security & Privacy.

Note

This should not be considered an exhaustive list of cookies that might be in use on a given site. Third party addons may have their own cookies and cookies may be set outside of ExpressionEngine entirely.

Basic Cookies
Name Description Expiration Type
anon Determines whether the user’s username is displayed in the list of currently logged in members. 1 year Functionality
cp_last_site_id MSM cookie indicating the last site accessed in the control panel. Session Strictly Necessary
csrf_token A security cookie used to identify the user and prevent Cross Site Request Forgery attacks. 2 hours Strictly Necessary
flash Control panel user feedback messages, encrypted for security. 1 day Strictly Necessary
last_activity Records the time of the last page load. Used in conjunction with the last_visit cookie. 1 year Strictly Necessary
last_visit Date of the user’s last visit. Can be shown as a statistic for members and used by the forum to show unread topics for both members and guests. 1 year Strictly Necessary
remember Determines whether a user is automatically logged in upon visiting the site. 2 weeks Strictly Necessary
sessionid Session id, used to associate a logged in user with their data. 1-2 hours Strictly Necessary
tracker Contains the last 5 pages viewed, encrypted for security. Typically used for form or error message returns. Session Functionality
visitor_consents Saves responses to Consent requests for non-logged in visitors 1 year Strictly Necessary
Comment Cookies
Name Description Expiration Type
my_email* Email address specified when posting a comment. 1 year Functionality
my_location* Location specified when posting a comment. 1 year Functionality
my_name* Name specified when posting a comment. 1 year Functionality
my_url* URL specified when posting a comment. 1 year Functionality
notify_me If set to ‘yes’, notifications will be sent to the saved email address when new comments are made. 1 year Functionality
save_info If set to ‘yes’, allows additional cookies to store guest user information for use when filling out comment forms. This cookie is only set if you submit a comment. 1 year Functionality
  • Cookie is set only if the user opts in via the ‘save_info’ field.
Forum Cookies
Name Description Expiration Type
forum_theme If multiple forum themes exist, this cookie allows the user to save their theme preference. 1 year Functionality
forum_topics Tracks the id number for read topics, allows setting the ‘read’ status. Saved in the cookie for guests, the database for members. 1 year Functionality