Usage Insights client-side storage cookies

  • Release version: Australia
  • Updated March 12, 2026
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Usage Insights Client-Side Storage Cookies

    Usage Insights leverages the SNAnalytics JavaScript SDK to monitor client-side user activity across various ServiceNow platforms, including Platform Analytics, Core UI, and the Service Portal. This tracking is facilitated through session storage and local storage, ensuring relevant analytics data is captured effectively.

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    Key Features

    • Session Storage: Maintains information flow during web page refreshes and user navigations, with data available only while the current tab is open. Key data includes server response time, temporary analytics data, current page name, and a unique tab identifier.
    • Local Storage: Stores persistent data such as tracking consent, user identification, and browser identifiers. This data remains until browsing data is cleared, and includes consent status, hashed user ID, and a unique browser identifier.
    • Data Management: Data is encrypted at rest and stored in a regional multitenant repository. It is anonymized before storage and deleted after a two-year retention period.

    Key Outcomes

    By utilizing the SNAnalytics SDK and various storage mechanisms, ServiceNow customers can effectively track and analyze user interactions, improving understanding of user behavior and enhancing overall service delivery. Users can manage their consent and data easily through browser settings, ensuring compliance and transparency.

    To track client-side user activity, Usage Insights uses the SNAnalytics JavaScript SDK that is embedded in Platform Analytics, Core UI, and the Service Portal.

    The SNAnalytics SDK uses a combination of session storage and local storage variables to track the information required to facilitate the analytics tracking.

    For more information on session storage and local storage, refer to the JavaScript.Info documentation.

    For more information on SNAnalytics SDK, see SNAnalytics - Client  and SNAnalytics – in the Developer community.

    Key structure

    All locally stored keys are stored using the following structure: sn:{API_KEY}:{KEY NAME}

    Each tracked portal has a unique API_KEY that is stored on the instance. For example, for the portal with an API key abcd and a key name tab, the local key value would be: sn:abc:tab

    Session storage

    Session storage is used to maintain the flow of information between web page refreshes and user navigations. Information in session storage is transient and kept available only during the lifespan of the current tab. When a tab is closed, the session storage information is removed.

    The table lists the keys and values stored on session storage.
    Key Description
    srt Server Response Time. The last time SNAnalytics successfully communicated with the Usage Insights server.
    data Queue of temporary stored analytics data points, which is periodically flushed to the backend.
    page The name of the current page, automatically captured by the Usage Insights server.
    tab Randomly generated unique identifier for the current tab.

    Local storage

    Local storage is used to maintain tracking consent information, hashed identification of the user (which is cleared when consent is revoked), and randomly generated identifiers for the browser. Local storage variables are persistent locally and are deleted when you clear your browsing data.

    The table lists the keys and values stored on local storage.
    Key Description
    browser Randomly generated unique identifier for the current browser.
    client The server assigned ID mapped to the browser key value.
    user Hashed user id, supplied by the customer.
    consent A Boolean (yes/no) value that indicates whether the user consents to be tracked.

    Deleting local storage

    To delete local storage variables, you must clear the browsing data. For example, in the Chrome browser, select History > Show Full History > Clear browsing data. In the Clear browsing data window, select Cookies and other site data and then select Clear data.
    Settings to clear local storage cookies.

    Data storage

    Data is encrypted at rest. It’s stored in a central ServiceNow® multitenant repository closest to the instance's region, in either AMS (Canada), EMEA (Germany), or APAC (Japan).

    Data is anonymized before it’s sent to storage, and deleted at the database level after a retention period of two years.