I am wondering if there is any research on the lifespan of cookies on users comp

Question

I am wondering if there is any research on the lifespan of cookies on users computers?

For a website I'm building we are looking at giving the users some personalization based on a previous selection when they come back at a later point. However, our users mostly will come back a few months or even a year later.

Of course I can set the expiration time of the cookie to a year or longer. But overtime people get a new computer, a new install, or just a new browser (version). Or there might be other changes which make the cookie be deleted. I'm guess that the cookie won't survive the length of a year. Will it be worth saving this in a cookie? E.g., how much percentage of the cookies will still be there by that time?

Explanation / Answer

If your user doesn't come back for a year, then whatever cookie-persisted personalization you have set has probably become moot. The user will not even remember that the personalization has been set.

Feel free to set your cookies for a year, but don't be too concerned if they expire before the user comes back.

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