Munchkin code expiry

[PatrickCumiskey]

Hello.

I would really appreciate the advise if someone can help answer my query.

I am wondering, once a customer clicks a link in an email and the munchkin code is activated...

1. How long will the code keep tracking this customer? 

2. Is this dependant on the customers continual interaction with emails?

3. Will the code track subsequent sessions. i.e. if the customer ends their session, then comes back to the site the following day. 

Thanks

[Elsa_Man3 · Accepted solution]

Hi Patrick,

1. By default the munchkin cookie expires after 2 years. There are new changes if people use Safari - it may only last 7 days https://nation.marketo.com/t5/knowledgebase/browser-cookie-updates-how-marketo-munchkin-is-affected/...

2. It will last 2 years even if the person no longer clicks on email or visits the website. But if they do engage again, then the counter starts up again.

3. Yes, if the customer ends their session/time on your site, comes back the same day, the cookie will know and continue logging the activity under the same Marketo person.

Not directly related to the Munchkin cookie expiry but all the above is not to be confused with how long activity data is retained in Marketo - i.e. how long does Marketo save a "Clicked on email" activity data for a person. For those activity data retention timeframes, you can refer to Marketo's data retention table: https://nation.marketo.com/t5/knowledgebase/marketo-activities-data-retention-policy/ta-p/251480 

[SanfordWhiteman]

To expand a bit on Elsa’s correct answer...

1. The mere act of clicking an email link does not set a cookie. The cookie is only set when the person arrives at a website that’s running Munchkin. For example, having a direct link to a PDF (which is not advisable for this very reason) will never set a cookie.
2. A new cookie is set every time a page is viewed. The cookie has the same name and value — which is why you may not realize it’s new — but a new expiration time.  This is how the expiration is extended out another 2 years.
3. There’s no need for the person to continually engage with emails per se. But they need to continually engage with your website in some way. Just browsing is fine. Safari enforces an almost ridiculously strict policy which means the cookie value will change (thus making the person anonymous again) if they don’t return every week. So from a lowest-common denominator standpoint, you do want to get people to do something on the site, and a weekly email is the way to get there.