Enhancing Cookie Transparency with utag 4.51: A Comprehensive Introduction

We’re excited to announce utag 4.51, a significant update that improves transparency and increases control over how Tealium iQ sets cookies. This is designed to help modern businesses address their growing challenges with cookie management and compliance while ensuring a seamless transition for our existing tag management customers. Let’s dive into the key benefits of Tealium’s utag 4.51 update!

utag 4.51 Supports Improved Transparency

In website cookie management, “transparency” doesn’t just mean notifying users about which cookies are being set, why they’re being set, and the options for consent. It also means setting cookies that serve a clear, single purpose, so they’re easy to explain and audit.

Websites often specify the types of cookies used (such as functional or tracking cookies), explaining their purposes (like site analytics or personalized advertising), and how long these cookies remain active. This information should be easily accessible, understandable, and auditable, helping users make informed decisions and manage their preferences at any time.

utag 4.51 introduces standalone single-purpose cookies for each value, replacing the previous “multi-cookie” approach and giving all Tealium iQ cookies a clear, single purpose that’s easy to explain.

The introduction of standalone, single-purpose cookies necessitated two ID-related updates:

1. The code that sets the utag_main_v_id cookie, a unique device identifier, has been moved to the Collect tag, since that’s where it is used. This means that by default, Tealium iQ no longer sets the utag_main_v_id cookie. Instead, it is set only when it is needed by the Collect tag.
2. In the Consent Manager cookie, we introduced a new ‘id‘ cookie element for logging consent. The new consent identifier is only set when the logging feature is active, and initially matches any values found for utag_main_v_id, to ensure continuity of tracking. However, once set, it remains unchanged to preserve the link between the user and the logged events. This behavior ensures accurate consent tracking without compromising the connection between the device and the logged consent events.
   

Lock It Down with Allow Lists

With utag 4.51 we also introduced the split_cookie_allowlist setting, which offers fine-grained control over which ‘utag_*‘ cookies are allowed to be set.

Tealium iQ provides methods that allow tags and extensions to easily set and read cookies in the Tealium iQ ‘utag_’ namespace. Though the flexibility is valuable, it can be difficult to understand and control which cookies are set.

Defining an allow list ensures that only specified ‘utag_main_*’ cookies are allowed. By leveraging this capability, you can strike the right balance between flexibility and compliance, giving you peace of mind while delivering exceptional user experiences.

A Smooth Transition to utag 4.51

utag 4.51 ensures full backward compatibility and simplifies the transition from previous versions, creating a seamless transition for our customers.

You can unlock the new features without disrupting your current setup by updating the relevant templates! If you prefer not to use one of the new features, you can disable them with a dedicated Tealium iQ setting.

We’ve conducted extensive integration tests to ensure the expected behavior ensures a hassle-free experience as you modernize your approach to Tealium iQ cookies. For more detailed information (including migration instructions), check out our release notes about Tealium’s utag 4.51 update.