Cookie Classification & Consent Handling

Overview

CTM uses cookies to enable features like:

• Dynamic number swapping
• Visitor and session tracking for attribution
• Call routing based on how visitors interact with your site

Because these features rely on cookies, their behavior is directly impacted by user consent choices.

How consent impacts number swapping

Visitor Choice	Number Swapping Behavior
Accepts marketing cookies	Works as expected
Rejects all cookies	Does not occur

This is expected behavior and aligns with privacy requirements.

Your Configuration Options

Option A (Commonly Used): Categorize CTM Cookies as "Marketing"

Behavior:

• Cookie used for tracking and attribution
• Number swapping works only for visitors who accept marketing cookies
• Number swapping does not occur for visitors who decline

Pros:

• Aligns with GDPR and ePrivacy requirements
• Reduced compliance risk from misclassification

Cons:

• Reduced tracking coverage based on user consent
• Number swapping is fully dependent on user consent - If a visitor declines cookies, swapping will not occur. 

Option B: Categorize CTM Cookies as “Necessary” (context dependent)

In some cases, CTM cookies may be considered necessary if they are used to support core site functionality. For example, if your tracking numbers are used to route phone calls to the correct department or location, these cookies may be considered essential to delivering the service the user is requesting. 

Behavior:

• Number swapping works for all visitors
• Cookies are set regardless of the consent choice

Pros:

• Full functionality is preserved

Cons:

• May not comply with GDPR/ePrivacy if cookies are used for tracking or attribution. Misclassifying such cookies as Necessary could be considered a compliance violation

Important:
We recommend with your consulting your legal or compliance team if using this option.

Which option should you choose?

We recommend Option A (Marketing) for most customers. It reflects the intended use of CTM cookies and ensures compliance with privacy regulations.

How to Configure Your CMP 

To properly categorize CTM's cookie:

1. Open your CMP, such as Cookiebot or Onetrust 
2. Navigate to your cookie declaration or cookie list
3. Locate the CTM cookies listed below
   • Your engineering team can confirm the exact cookie name if needed
4. Assign it to the appropriate category. 

CTM Cookies to Configure

Add the following cookies to your CMP under the selected category:

• :ct{account_id}
• __ctmid
• _ctmdd

Cookie	Purpose	When CTM sets it	Retention
: ct{account_id}	Primary CTM session cookie for this account. Used to keep the visitor session consistent for DNI, pool lookups, and event attribution.	Set by the CTM server after marketing consent is present. Standard page requests create a session cookie. AMP requests set an expiring cookie.	Session on standard pages; Default 30 days on AMP pages.
__ctmid	Browser-side copy of the CTM session id so the JavaScript client can reuse the same visitor session.	Set by the browser tracking code when it needs a valid CTM session id for the current account.	Default 30 days
__ctmdd	Consolidated CTM browser-side attribution cookie. It stores browser tracking details such as referrer, landing page, first-event state, and optional cross-domain attribution data in a single CTM-managed payload.	Used as the consolidated CTM fallback cookie when browser storage is unavailable. Cross-domain attribution data is not currently stored for this account.	Default 30 days

• You should test your CMP configuration after making updates