Big Cartel uses cookies to keep your shop running smoothly, protect accounts, and understand how features are being used. Some cookies are essential for core functions like carts, checkout, and forms. Others help us improve performance and reliability. If required cookies are blocked by a cookie consent tool, then certain storefront features may not work as expected.
What are cookies?
Cookies are small text files that are stored on your computer or mobile device when you visit a website. They help websites remember information about your visit, such as actions you’ve taken or preferences you’ve selected.
Big Cartel uses cookies to:
- Ensure storefronts function correctly
- Keep accounts and sessions secure
- Remember certain user preferences
- Understand how our platform is used so we can improve it
Some cookies are required for core functionality, while others support performance and analytics. For more information about how we handle personal data, please review our Privacy Policy.
What cookies does Big Cartel use and why?
Big Cartel sets cookies on:
- Merchant storefront subdomains (for example, storename.bigcartel.com)
- Big Cartel–owned domains (such as .bigcartel.com) when required for platform functionality
This article focuses only on cookies set by Big Cartel. Merchants may independently enable third-party services (such as analytics or advertising tools) that place their own cookies, which are not covered here.
Cookies required for shop functionality
These cookies are necessary for core shop features to work, such as maintaining a shopping cart, accessing password protected products, submitting forms, or displaying required shop messages. If these cookies are disabled, parts of your shop may not function as expected.
Cookie name | Purpose | Duration |
|---|---|---|
cart | Stores information about a visitor’s shopping cart | 1 year |
_storefront_session | Maintains session state after actions like submitting a contact form | Session |
product_pw | Allows access to password-protected products after a password is entered | Session |
visited | Identifies whether a visitor has previously visited your shop for shop analytics | Session |
hide-announcement-message | Remembers when a visitor closes your shop announcement banners | 7 days |
These cookies are always enabled because they support essential shop behavior.
Account, admin, and security cookies
These cookies help protect Big Cartel accounts, manage authenticated sessions, and support platform security.
Cookie name | Purpose | Duration |
|---|---|---|
_bigcartel_api_session | Maintains authenticated sessions for Big Cartel services | 1 year |
_last_account_generation | Helps manage secure account state changes | Varies |
ident | Supports authentication and security features | 1 year |
_cflb | Supports load balancing and security protections | Session |
These cookies are required to prevent unauthorized access and ensure the platform operates securely.
Using cookie consent tools
If you use a cookie consent or cookie management tool on your storefront, all Big Cartel cookies must be allowed in order for core features—such as carts, checkout, and forms—to work correctly.
Blocking required Big Cartel cookies, even temporarily, can prevent cart data or session information from being saved.
From time to time, Big Cartel may update how cookies are used to support storefront functionality. If you manage cookies through a consent tool, you may need to review your configuration to ensure all Big Cartel cookies continue to be allowed.
How long do cookies remain on my device?
Cookies can be either:
- Session cookies, which are deleted when you close your browser
- Persistent cookies, which remain on your device until they expire or are deleted
Most Big Cartel cookies expire between a few minutes and up to two years, depending on their purpose. Required cookies are retained only as long as needed to support storefront functionality, account security, or performance improvements.
How to control cookies
You can manage cookies through your browser settings. Most browsers allow you to:
Please note that disabling or blocking cookies may cause parts of your Big Cartel shop or admin tools to stop working properly.