Extra Vanilla Cookies Descriptions

Unknown
Unknown
in Support Agents

We get a lot of cookies questions from our customers. I have tried to keep our doc on Success up to date but there are some cookies we don't necessarily want the general public to know about so I am putting my (imperfect) descriptions of them here. Maybe I am being overly cautious. If anyone has an opinion on this let me know.

Below are two such cookies:

  1. vfo_s This cookie is generated by our infrastructure. It is used for code caching. You will see if you delete it you are forcing the renewal of the cache (page loads more slowly) and then the cookie is reset.
  2. __vnf This cookie is generated when you have the Troll Management addon enabled. This cookie remains active for a year and contains a 'fingerprint' of a user. When a user creates an account if they do not already have the `__vnf` cookie they will be given one and the value of the cookie will be saved in the database associated with their userID. If that user creates another user while the same cookie is valid it will be saved in the database associated with the second userID. Now you will be able to link the first user to the other user they have created. This is useful for when you ban a user you will know if they create a new account. The value of the cookie is just a random hash, it does not contain any data.

Comments

  • Unknown
    Unknown

    Hey @patrick_kelly Quantexa is looking for more details on the vfo_s cookie than "it is used for code caching". They need to include this description in their cookie banner per their Legal team's requirements. Can you provide some more context? Thanks!

  • Unknown
    Unknown

    This cookie contains no personal data. It gets set when a user logs in and unset when the user logs out. If a user stays logged in for more than 1 month, this cookie expires. Its sole purpose is to communicate to our application that a browser has an active session, and that we should enact the appropriate code caching policy. If a user does not have this cookie (they are either not logged in or they have blocked this cookie) they will not benefit from speed optimization in our code. Like I said, the only data this cookie transmits to our application is that there is a browser with an active session, it doesn't "know" who the session belongs to.

  • Unknown
    Unknown

    Thanks @patrick_kelly Based on that description, Quantexa has defined the vfo_s cookie under the "preferences" category. Is this correct? Or is it a necessary cookie.

    Cookie categories defined below:

    • Necessary (Necessary cookies help make a website usable by enabling basic functions like page navigation and access to secure areas of the website. The website cannot function properly without these cookies.)
    • Preferences (Preference cookies enable a website to remember information that changes the way the website behaves or looks, like your preferred language or the region that you are in.)


  • Unknown
    Unknown

    I would classify this as "Necessary" because it is used as a reference for the system when to put load on different parts of the process. If there is too much load on the application or the database, the application will fail. From the customer's perspective, the site will only function more slowly for them if they are the only user who refuses that cookie. In that sense it looks like a "preference" to them. But if enough people turn off that cookie the application could crash.

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