What is first-party data?
As third-party cookies get less reliable, first-party data is the signal that keeps your tracking, targeting and email working. Here is what it is, why it matters, and how Shopify stores put it to work.
First-party data is the information a business collects directly from its own customers and visitors, such as email, order history and on-site behaviour. Unlike third-party data, which outside companies aggregate and sell, it comes straight from your own relationship with the shopper, so it is accurate, consent-based and not dependent on third-party cookies. It is what server-side tracking sends to ad and email platforms to match conversions. On Shopify, TrackBee captures events server-side and enriches every event with first-party data before it reaches Meta, Google, TikTok, Pinterest, GA4 & Klaviyo.
What is first-party data?
First-party data is information you collect directly from your own store, site and shoppers through their interactions with you: email and phone from signups and checkout, order and purchase history, and on-site behaviour like product views, add-to-cart and sessions. Because it comes from your own relationship with the customer, you own it, and it does not depend on cookies set by other websites.
Third-party data is the opposite. It is aggregated and bought from outside providers that have no direct relationship with your shoppers, and it is built on third-party cookies and cross-site tracking, which browsers increasingly restrict. There is also second-party data, which is simply another company's first-party data shared or bought through a direct partnership.
| First-party data | Third-party data | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it comes from | Directly from your own store and shoppers | Aggregated and bought from outside providers |
| Who controls it | You do | External data brokers |
| Cookie dependence | Works without third-party cookies | Built on third-party cookies and cross-site tracking |
| Accuracy and consent | High, collected under your own privacy terms | Lower, no direct relationship with the shopper |
| Durability | Durable and increasingly the standard | Increasingly restricted by browsers |
First-party data and the third-party cookie
The context people get wrong: third-party cookies were not banned outright, but they have quietly become unreliable, and browsers treat them very differently. First-party data is the one signal that holds up across all of them.
Safari
Blocks all third-party cookies by default, and has since 2020, through Intelligent Tracking Prevention (ITP).
Firefox
Isolates third-party cookies into a separate jar per site (Total Cookie Protection) and blocks known trackers by default.
Chrome
Still allows third-party cookies by default. Google reversed its plan to deprecate them in 2024 and confirmed in 2025 it will not add a cookie prompt. Users can block them in Settings.
So third-party cookies are not disappearing on a fixed date, but between Safari, Firefox and user choice in Chrome, they reach a shrinking share of your shoppers. First-party data does not have that problem. It comes straight from your store, so it stays reliable no matter which browser someone uses. That is why more and more stores now build their tracking and measurement on first-party data.
Where a Shopify store's first-party data comes from
You are already collecting it. The value is in capturing it completely and putting it to work, rather than letting it sit in separate tools.
Orders and checkout
Purchase history, order value, products bought, and the email and phone entered at checkout.
Email and SMS signups
The contact details shoppers give you through popups, newsletters and account creation.
On-site behaviour
Product views, add-to-cart, checkout steps and sessions, the signals of intent as they happen.
Customer accounts
Profiles, preferences and the new-versus-returning status you can derive from your Shopify customer data.
How TrackBee turns first-party data into results
A raw conversion event is thin, often just a value and a timestamp. TrackBee captures events server-side and enriches every event with first-party data (hashed email and phone, click IDs, and product, cart and order context) before sending it on. Personal identifiers are hashed with SHA-256 first, so matching stays privacy-safe.
Richer events lift match quality on Meta, improve Google Enhanced Conversion Coverage, and let Klaviyo recognise anonymous and returning shoppers. The result is more conversions matched, smarter platform bidding, and email flows that actually fire. Pricing is flat from €79/mo, live in about 5 minutes.
- Meta
- TikTok
- GA4 & Klaviyo
- Plus ChatGPT Ads, Microsoft Ads and more
First-party data, answered
What is first-party data?
First-party data is information a business collects directly from its own customers and visitors, such as email, order history and on-site behaviour. Because it comes from your own relationship with the shopper, you own it, it is collected under your own privacy terms, and it does not depend on cookies set by other websites.
What is the difference between first-party and third-party data?
First-party data comes straight from your own store and shoppers, so it is accurate and yours. Third-party data is aggregated and sold by outside providers that have no direct relationship with those shoppers, and it relies on third-party cookies and cross-site tracking, which browsers increasingly restrict. Second-party data sits in between: it is another company's first-party data shared through a direct partnership.
Are third-party cookies going away?
Not in the way it is often described. Safari and Firefox already restrict third-party cookies by default, but Google reversed its plan to deprecate them in Chrome in 2024 and confirmed in 2025 it will not add a cookie prompt, so third-party cookies still work in Chrome by default. They are increasingly unreliable across browsers, which is why first-party data has become the durable signal to build on.
Is first-party data the same as personal data (PII)?
No. First-party data includes non-identifying signals like product views and cart activity as well as identifiers like email and phone. Personal data (PII) is the identifying subset. Before those identifiers are sent to ad platforms for matching, they are hashed with SHA-256, so the raw values are never exposed.
How do ad platforms use first-party data?
They use it to match a conversion to a real user. Meta scores how matchable your events are with match quality, and Google Enhanced Conversions attaches hashed first-party data so Google can recover matches that cookies alone would miss. Richer first-party signals mean more conversions matched and better optimisation. Enhanced Conversions is an enrichment feature, not a separate sending channel.
How does TrackBee use first-party data?
TrackBee captures your Shopify events server-side and enriches every event with first-party data (hashed email and phone, click IDs, and product, cart and order context) before sending it to Meta, Google, TikTok, Pinterest, GA4 & Klaviyo. It also links sessions into persistent shopper profiles, so anonymous and returning visitors are recognised. Setup is about 5 minutes with no code, flat from €79/mo.
Put your first-party data to work on Shopify
TrackBee enriches every event with first-party data and sends complete signals to Meta, Google, TikTok, Pinterest, GA4 & Klaviyo. Flat from €79/mo, live in about 5 minutes.
Last updated: July 2026