Cookieless analytics measures activity without using cookies for that measurement. It can count page views, link visits, or campaign events, depending on the tool. It does not necessarily identify a visitor or connect their actions across sessions.
The useful question is what you need to measure. If you want to compare visits from an email and a printed poster, separate short links can answer that without assigning each visitor a lasting identifier. If you want a customer's full path from first visit to purchase, redirect counts alone cannot answer it.
How cookieless analytics works
A measurement tool can record an event when a server receives a request or when a page sends a signal. Cookies are one way to attach an identifier to that event, but they are not required to count it.
Tools differ in what they retain. Some keep aggregate counts. Others use session identifiers, browser attributes, or IP-derived values. A product being labelled cookieless does not tell you whether it uses another way to recognise visitors.
Server-side collection is also not automatically cookieless: a server can read cookies sent with a request. Check the actual collection method, stored fields, and retention policy.
What can you measure without visitor identifiers?
| Question | What link analytics can tell you |
|---|---|
| Which placement received more visits? | Compare counts for a separate short link assigned to each placement. |
| Which countries and devices appear? | Inspect the country and device breakdown recorded for redirect requests. |
| Where did visits come from? | Read the referrer when the browser supplies one. It may be missing. |
| How many distinct people clicked? | Visit counts do not answer this without a method for distinguishing people. |
| Did a visitor purchase after clicking? | A redirect does not establish a later purchase. That needs separate measurement. |
Do not treat all requests as people. Repeated clicks, automated previews, and bots can affect counts. A larger cookieless count is not proof that it is more accurate than another tool's count.
Measure a campaign with separate short links
Suppose the same menu appears in an email and on a table card. Create one short link for the email and another for the card, both pointing to the menu. Generate the card's QR code from its assigned short link.
This makes the placement part of the link you manage. It does not rely on the browser supplying a referrer, which is useful for QR scans and messaging apps where referrer data is often absent.
- Choose the question you want to answer, such as which placement brings more menu visits.
- Create a separate short link for each placement and give it a clear title.
- Keep the destination consistent while you compare the placements.
- Use the same reporting period for every link.
- Report visits as visits, and keep conversion results separate.
If you also use website analytics, you can add UTM parameters to the destination. Those labels describe a campaign; they do not identify a person or make the destination site's measurement cookieless.
What rdyrct records
rdyrct records country, referrer, device, and timestamp for short-link visits. It does not store visitor IP addresses or assign a persistent visitor identifier for click analytics.
You can compare links and see their activity in the dashboard. The reporting window depends on the plan: seven days on Free, 30 on Hobby, and 365 on Pro. See current plans for the limits.
These are redirect analytics, not full website analytics. The destination website has its own data collection. Cookies used for your signed-in rdyrct session are also separate from how visits to your short links are measured.
The standalone QR generator does not track scans by itself. To measure visits through a QR code, encode a managed short link. A static code containing the destination directly bypasses rdyrct's redirect.
rdyrct counts clicks by country, referrer and device and never stores an IP address.
Make the reports useful
- Use one link per placement when source information matters.
- Compare equivalent periods rather than an old campaign's lifetime count with a new campaign's first day.
- Investigate abrupt spikes before calling them new customers.
- Expect missing referrers. Read why referrer data disappears.
- Keep a record of destination changes so you know what each campaign sent people to.
Common questions
Is cookieless analytics the same as anonymous analytics?
No. A tool can avoid cookies while using other identifiers. Check what it collects and stores rather than relying on the label.
Will cookieless analytics count every visitor?
No collection method guarantees complete coverage. Requests can fail, client-side scripts can be blocked, and automated requests can add noise. Understand which events your tool actually records.
Does a QR scan count as a unique person?
No. A scan that opens a managed short link produces a visit through that redirect. The same person can scan more than once, and visit counts do not prove unique people.
Do I need a custom domain?
No. rdyrct's shared short links include click analytics. Custom domains are paid and let the short address use your own hostname. Read how branded links work.
Create a short link and compare visits from two placements before deciding whether you need more detailed measurement.