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Marketing / AdvertisingConsent required

What is the guest_id Cookie?

Set by Twitter / X (X Corp.). Expires after 2 years.

Purpose

Identifies a browser as a guest (not signed in) for Twitter/X integrations, used for analytics and advertising on embedded content.

Frequently set by embedded tweets even when the visitor never interacts with them.

Cookie Details

Cookie Nameguest_id
ServiceTwitter / X
ProviderX Corp.
CategoryMarketing / Advertising
Duration2 years
Consent RequiredYes — requires explicit opt-in

Category: Marketing / Advertising

Marketing cookies are used to track visitors across websites to display relevant advertisements. Consent is required under GDPR.

GDPR Requirements

Under GDPR and the ePrivacy Directive, the guest_id cookie requires explicit user consent before it can be set. This means:

  • The cookie must not be set when a user first visits your site — not even for a fraction of a second
  • A consent banner must be displayed, and the user must actively accept analytics/marketing cookies
  • If the user rejects or ignores the banner, this cookie must remain blocked
  • The cookie must be listed in your cookie policy with its name, purpose, and retention period
  • Users must be able to withdraw consent at any time, which must also remove or invalidate this cookie

How to Handle This Cookie

  1. Block it by default — configure your Consent Management Platform (CMP) or tag manager to prevent Twitter / X from loading until the user accepts marketing cookies.
  2. Include it in your consent categories — map it to the "Marketing / Advertising" category in your CMP configuration.
  3. List it in your cookie policy — document the cookie name, purpose, provider (X Corp.), and expiry (2 years).
  4. Sign a DPA — ensure you have a Data Processing Agreement with X Corp. covering their use of data collected via this cookie.
  5. Verify it works — in an incognito browser, reject cookies and confirm guest_id is not set.

Other Twitter / X Cookies

CookieCategoryDuration
personalization_idMarketing / Advertising2 years

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