What it is
The Zendesk Web Widget embeds chat, help-centre search and ticket submission. Its identifiers exist to keep a conversation continuous across page loads, which is a functional purpose rather than a tracking one.
What a scan matches
A verification scan drives a real browser and records the outbound requests observed during its configured journeys, so Zendesk is identified by request hosts and paths rather than by source-code claims. Requests on unvisited paths, after unperformed interactions or solely on the server remain outside that observation.
- zendesk.com
- zdassets.com
- zopim.com
Cookies are classified by name before domain because many analytics and advertising tags write first-party cookies through the page, which places a vendor-related identifier on your domain. Matching known names helps attribute those values without assuming that every first-party cookie came from your own application.
| Cookie | What it is for |
|---|---|
| __zlcmid | Zopim live chat machine identifier |
| __zlcstore | Local widget state |
Controlling it with consent
No named adapter. Attach it to functional, or load it on demand from a lightweight launcher so a visitor who never asks for support never loads it.
No named adapter: choose the appropriate control
The product ships named adapters for Google Tag Manager, Google Analytics, the Meta and TikTok pixels, and Klaviyo. Choose the control route that fits this technology: a custom HTTPS script declaration for a browser loader, an individual consent condition inside a tag manager, a platform or app setting, or a click-to-load placeholder for a frame. Server-side integrations need their own enforcement because a browser runtime cannot stop them.
What breaks if it is refused: the support widget. Keep a non-JavaScript contact route available so refusing does not mean being unable to reach you.
Verifying it
Before consent there should be no __zlcmid. Confirm that a visitor who refuses functional can still find a way to contact you. An email address in the footer is usually enough.
- Before a choice: optional tracking endpoints and optional identifiers are absent; any intentionally loaded necessary or functional surface matches the control model described above
- After rejecting optional categories: optional activity remains absent and the refusal persists across a reload
- After granting the relevant category: the expected loader or embed appears and the feature behaves normally
- After withdrawing: new optional activity stops; where the vendor supports a consent signal, verify that the signal is sent as well as checking network behavior
Common questions
Do support widgets need consent?
They are not strictly necessary for delivering a page, so in prior-consent jurisdictions the safe reading is yes. Loading on click is the pattern that most cleanly avoids the question.
Sources and verification
Verified on . Product-behaviour statements were checked against the current implementation and tests. The links below are the verification basis recorded for this article. They support the stated facts, not a legal conclusion for every site or configuration; recheck changing vendor behaviour before relying on it in production.
- Zendesk: in-product cookie policy
Vendor documentation
Checked
See what your own site is loading
A browser scan reports the requests and storage it observed during the sampled journey. Use configured workspace scans to compare the states and pages that matter to your implementation.