The _shopify_y cookie
A Shopify storefront analytics cookie that identifies a returning browser on a Shopify store.
_shopify_y at a glance
- Cookie name
_shopify_y- Vendor
- Shopify
- Category
- Analytics
- Party
- First-party
- Typical duration
- 1 year
- Set on
.<your-store-domain>- Value format
- Opaque identifier, commonly a UUID (format not documented by vendor)
- Name match
- Exactly
_shopify_y
What the _shopify_y cookie does
_shopify_y identifies a returning browser on a Shopify store. Shopify uses it for reporting and analytics on how visitors interact with the storefront, alongside the session cookie _shopify_s.
Shopify lists it under reporting and analytics with a 1 year lifetime. Shopify has been moving some storefronts to newer cookie names, so it may not appear on every store.
What TagPipes observed
0.59%
of sites scanned set it (244 of 41,162)
365 days
median observed lifetime
TagPipes scanned 41,162 public websites between August 11, 2026 and September 13, 2026, loading up to three pages per site in a real browser as a first-time visitor. _shopify_y was present on 244 of them.
It was set as a first-party cookie on 226 sites and as a third-party cookie on 19. A site can count in both. Where it was stored as a persistent cookie, the median lifetime we recorded was 365 days.
Often found alongside
- _shopify_s 100%
- _shop_app_essential 84%
- _shopify_analytics 84%
- _shopify_essential 84%
- _shopify_marketing 84%
- localization 84%
Percentage of sites with _shopify_y where the other cookie was also present.
Technologies detected on the same sites
- Shopify on 100% of them (0.75% of all sites scanned)
- Google Analytics on 61% of them (55% of all sites scanned)
- Google Fonts on 55% of them (78% of all sites scanned)
- Meta Pixel on 49% of them (13% of all sites scanned)
- Google Ads on 27% of them (12% of all sites scanned)
Aggregate figures across all sites scanned. Websites of TagPipes customers are excluded, no individual site is named, and cookie values are never read or stored. Snapshot dated September 13, 2026.
How to check for _shopify_y on a website
- Open the site in Chrome, then open DevTools (F12, or Cmd+Option+I on a Mac).
- Go to the Application tab and expand Cookies in the left panel.
- Select each domain listed there and look for
_shopify_y. The Expires column shows when it will be deleted. - If it is not there, reload the page. Many cookies are only set after a tag has loaded, and some only after a visitor has made a consent choice.
Sources
Purpose, duration and value format checked against the vendor documentation above on . The figures under What TagPipes observed are TagPipes scan data from September 13, 2026, not values documented by the vendor. Vendors change their cookies, and sites can configure their own names and lifetimes. Browse all cookies.
Know every cookie your own site sets
TagPipes Pulse identifies the cookies dropped on your site and flags unclassified or miscategorized ones. Shield builds your cookie declaration from a real scan rather than a questionnaire.
TagPipes monitors, configures and reports. It does not determine legal compliance and does not provide legal advice. Output is informational and reflects observed state at the time of observation. Rawsoft's expertise is technology, not law; please confirm any regulatory interpretation with your own counsel.