Webtrends
Webtrends is a long established US analytics and personalisation platform with Optimize and Infinity products used by enterprise sites in Europe and North America.
What does Webtrends do?
What Webtrends is
Webtrends is a long established US analytics and personalisation vendor with two flagship products: Webtrends Optimize for A/B testing and personalisation, and Webtrends Infinity for digital analytics. The platform is widely used by enterprise sites, government and financial services and supports both client side tags and server side ingestion.
Cookies and data collected
Webtrends sets a first party visitor cookie (WT_FPC), a session cookie and a personalisation cookie when Optimize is active. The Infinity product can persist hashed user identifiers in additional cookies. Page views, custom events, custom dimensions and visitor segments are captured and stored in the Webtrends data warehouse.
GDPR and ePrivacy obligations
Webtrends cookies are non essential and the personalisation features may rely on authenticated user attributes, so prior consent is required under article 5(3) of the ePrivacy Directive. The operator is the controller, Webtrends is the processor, and the privacy notice should describe both Optimize and Infinity if both are deployed.
Consent and configuration
Block the Webtrends tag in your CMP, request the UK or EU residency tier for European customer data, hash personal identifiers before transmission and gate any onward push to advertising audiences behind the same consent state.
Data transfers and storage
Webtrends is a US company. EU data is processed on US infrastructure unless the UK Infinity tier is selected. Transfers rely on the EU-US Data Privacy Framework where Webtrends is certified, otherwise on Standard Contractual Clauses with documented supplementary measures.
Practical compliance steps
Sign the Webtrends DPA, request the UK Infinity tier where possible, hash identifiers, set retention to thirteen months or less, document each Optimize rule with its legal basis and review the cookie list each quarter against new tag deployments.
Webtrends and the GDPR
Webtrends is classified as “Analytics”. On a site that targets European visitors, it must only load after the visitor consents, and it must be listed in your cookie policy.
- Legal basis
- Consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR) for the analytics, segmentation and personalisation cookies; legitimate interest (Art. 6(1)(f)) for strictly necessary functions when configured server side and limited to internal reporting
- Risk level
- high
- Applicable regulations
- GDPR, ePrivacy Directive, EU-US Data Privacy Framework, French Loi Informatique et Libertés, UK GDPR
Impact assessment (DPIA)
A DPIA is appropriate when Webtrends is deployed at scale across an enterprise estate, when personalisation rules use authenticated user attributes, when cohorts feed advertising audiences, or when EU customer data is routed to the US tier without the UK or EU residency option.
Sample text for your banner
We use Webtrends to measure usage of this site and to personalise some content. By accepting, you allow Webtrends to set cookies, capture your interactions and transfer this data to its servers, primarily located in the United States.
What Webtrends sets and contacts
- Tracking method
- JavaScript analytics tag (Webtrends Optimize, Webtrends Infinity) that captures page views, custom events and visitor segments; supports server side ingestion and behavioural cohorts
- Server location
- United States, primarily Oregon and AWS US, with a UK option for the Webtrends Infinity tier
- Data transferred outside the EU
- Personal data is processed by Webtrends in the United States. Transfers rely on the EU-US Data Privacy Framework where Webtrends is certified, and on Standard Contractual Clauses for sub processors.
Cookies set (3)
| Name | Type | Duration | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| WT_FPC | Analytics | 2 years | Webtrends first party visitor identifier used to compute returning visitors and visit attribution. |
| WT_SES | Analytics | Session | Webtrends session cookie used to group page views into a single visit. |
| wt_optimize | Functional / Personalisation | 90 days | Stores the Webtrends Optimize variant assigned to the visitor and the personalisation rules that apply. |
Third-party domains contacted (4)
webtrends.comwebtrends-optimize.comwtstatistics.comwebtrendslive.com
Frequently asked questions about Webtrends
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What cookies does Webtrends set?
Webtrends sets a first party visitor cookie WT_FPC, a session cookie WT_SES and, when Optimize is active, a personalisation cookie. Additional cookies may be added when Infinity stores hashed user identifiers.
Do I need consent to use Webtrends?
Yes. The cookies are non essential, the personalisation features may rely on authenticated user data and the data is processed in the United States, so prior opt in consent is required under article 5(3) of the ePrivacy Directive.
What is the legal basis for processing data through Webtrends?
Consent for the analytics, segmentation and personalisation cookies. Legitimate interest can apply to strictly necessary internal reporting when configured server side and not exposed to third parties.
Does Webtrends transfer data to the United States?
Yes by default. Webtrends is a US company; EU data is processed on US infrastructure unless the UK Infinity tier is selected. Transfers rely on the EU-US Data Privacy Framework or Standard Contractual Clauses.
Do I need a DPIA for Webtrends?
A DPIA is recommended for enterprise deployments, when personalisation rules use authenticated user attributes, when cohorts feed advertising audiences, or when EU customer data is routed to the US tier.
How do I implement Webtrends compliance correctly?
Block the tag in your CMP, sign the DPA, request the UK Infinity tier, hash personal identifiers, set retention to thirteen months or less, document each Optimize rule and review the cookie list quarterly.
What are the alternatives to Webtrends?
Other enterprise analytics and personalisation platforms include Adobe Analytics, Adobe Target, Piano Analytics, Quantum Metric, Contentsquare, Decibel, Optimizely and Mapp Intelligence.
How should I update my cookie policy when I deploy Webtrends?
List the WT_FPC, WT_SES and personalisation cookies with their lifetime and purpose, name Webtrends as a processor located in the US (or UK if you opt for the Infinity tier), document the transfer and the residency option.
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