Contentsquare's Security and Privacy
Contentsquare offers industry-first privacy and security so that you can build digital trust with your users. Read more about our practices and compliance here.
FAQs
What is a Data layer?
A data layer is a JavaScript object implemented within the HTML code of a page. It is not visible during browsing but visitors can access it via the page's source code.
Your data layer is like your website's ID card: it lists information on your website, a particular page or a logged-in user. Contentsquare gathers this information to feed modules, via CustomVars.
A data layer is composed of two elements: a key + a value.
Example:« env_template »
is the key,« productdescription»
is the value.
Below is an example of a data layer (found via F12 - on the console), here generated via the tag management tool "tag commander".
What is in a Data layer?
Here is the main information you can find in a data layer:
- The current page template (“homepage”, “product page”, “checkout delivery step”, etc.)
- This information allows the association of all identical pages in your analytics solution
- Visitors logged-in state (“anonymous”, “logged in”, “member”, etc.)
- This information allows visits segmentation according to logged-in / not logged in users
Depending on your needs, the following information can also be made available:
- On page displayed:
- the page's template (op. cit.)
- the product availability (on the product page)
- displayed products category pages ("men clothes", "beds"...)
- On logged users and their sessions:
- Log-in state (op. cit.)
- Number of articles in cart
- Loyalty program
- Payment method (in the purchase funnel)
- Promo code (in the purchase funnel)
Which cookies does Contentsquare use?
Cookie | Duration | Description |
---|---|---|
_cs_id |
13 months* | 103 characters |
_cs_s |
30 minutes | ~3-4 characters |
_cs_cvars |
Session duration | Min. 39 characters |
_cs_ex |
30 days | 1 character |
_cs_c |
13 months | 1 character |
_cs_optout |
13 months | 1 character |
_cs_mk |
30 minutes | Random number_timestamp in milliseconds |
_cs_rl |
1 year | Around 117 characters (minimum) |
How does Contentsquare prevent personal data collection?
Contentsquare prevents the collection of your users' personal data (any data that could potentially identify a specific individual) by:
- Blocking client-side keystrokes collection: By default, Contentsquare does not collect or store any keystroke
- Excluding Zones: Customers may also tag sensitive data in the HTML with HTML comments, to ensure that any personally identifiable information in data is removed by the Contentsquare parser before being sent to Contentsquare's servers
On top of this, Contentsquare stores all IP addresses except for the last two digits, so as to keep data masked. The IP anonymization sets the two last bytes of user IP addresses to zeros (ie: 127.0.x.x).
Contentsquare retrieves the IP only to compute geolocation (no more precise than the city). The IP is then anonymized and is never stored on Contentsquare servers or anywhere else.
How do I whitelist Contentsquare IP Addresses?
Some customers may experience an issue within the Contentsquare zoning module when visualizing their website as a background. This issue, caused by broken CSS, occurs when the CS IP address or domains are blocked by a firewall or blacklisted on the client-side.
For an optimal experience, we suggest Contentsquare customers whitelist the below IP address:
IP: 52.17.161.123
*.content-square.fr
*.contentsquare.net
What browser should I use when using the Contentsquare platform?
We strongly suggest using Google Chrome when accessing CS Solution. Why? Chrome is the preferred browser of our developers. It is where we first test our code, ensuring the highest quality.
All Contentsquare extensions are only developed/available on Chrome.
If Chrome isn't accessible to you, we recommend either Firefox or Safari browsers:
- FireFox works well but some defects can appear on your screen/modules (eg. elements or icons misalignments).
- Safari also works well, although .csv exports are not always authorized.
Are visitors considered logged-in users if they log out before the end of their visit?
The variable associated with visitors who log in is collected via a customvar. The customvar associated with a session will return the value collected on the last page viewed by visitors. If they are logged until the end of their visits, the whole session will be considered as a logged session. Special cases:
-
If visitors log in on the last page visited, the session will be considered as a logged session.
-
If visitors log in at the beginning/during their session and log out before the end of their visits, the session will be considered as an unconnected session.
-
If visitors log out on the last page they visit, the session will be considered as a non-connected session.
Why is there a difference between Contentsquare metrics and other analytics?
- Exclusion rules differ between tools.
- The scope of a session: Contentsquare considers a session ended after 30 minutes of inactivity, after the last event/user action. The sampling method (when a sample is applied) and IP exclusions can impact the number of sessions measured.
- The end of session calculation impacts the duration of a session and the time spent on the exit page: CS collects all interactions on a page: the end of a session corresponds to the last sent events packet timestamp sent. Other existing method: the timestamp of the last tag call.
- The bounce rate calculation: CS defines bounce rate as the percentage of visits with one sole page view. But bounce rate is sometimes defined as the percentage of visits with only one interaction.
- The positioning and the nature of the tag (synchronous or asynchronous) can influence data collection.
- The time zone impacts daily displayed data, especially the number of transactions. CS data is saved on UTC time zone.
How does Contentsquare differentiate between mobile, tablet, and desktop sessions?
- Apple (webview)
- Chrome
- Chrome-based browsers*
- Chrome-based webviews
- Edge
- Facebook (webview)
- Firefox
- Instagram (webview)
- Internet Explorer (Internet Explorer Mobile included)
- Opera
- Safari (Safari Mobile included)
- Samsung
- Others**
*CHROME-BASED BROWSERS: browsers built by manufacturers on Chrome (e.g. Huawei's browsers)**OTHERS: includes browsers that represent an insignificant part of the traffic. This option groups all other traffic regardless of browser or version.
How quickly does Contentsquare provide updated data after new user events happen on my site?
Any new site events will automatically sync with Contentsquare 10 seconds after a session has ended. A session ends after 30 minutes of inactivity after the last event / user action.
Ex: A user visits your site, their session ends, 10 seconds later events from this session can be viewed/analyzed in Contentsquare.