AWeber

Overview

AWeber is one of the longest-running email marketing platforms, founded in 1998 and serving over 100,000 small businesses and entrepreneurs. It provides email list management, newsletter creation, autoresponder sequences, and marketing automation. AWeber's website-facing presence comes through embeddable signup forms, lightbox pop-up widgets, and slide-in subscription prompts placed on publisher and business websites to grow email subscriber lists. The platform integrates with WordPress, Shopify, Squarespace, and major landing page tools.

What This Script Does

The AWeber script embeds subscription forms and pop-up widgets on third-party websites, and may include tracking functionality for subscriber attribution and campaign measurement.

Form embed script:

• AWeber signup forms load via a JavaScript snippet that fetches the form configuration from AWeber's servers (forms.aweber.com or static.aweber.com)
• The rendered form collects the visitor's email address and optionally name, phone number, or custom fields configured by the list owner
• On submission, form data is sent directly to AWeber's servers via AJAX for subscriber list addition
• A confirmation message or redirect is rendered in the form's place upon successful submission

Pop-up and lightbox widgets:

• JavaScript-based lightbox widgets evaluate display rules: time on page (e.g., 10 seconds), scroll depth, exit intent, or number of pages visited
• The widget overlay renders the subscription form as a modal or slide-in panel
• Display suppression cookies prevent repeated prompts to visitors who have already subscribed or dismissed the form

Cookies set:

• aweber_campaign_<id> — first-party persistent cookie, used to attribute which AWeber form or campaign drove the subscription, persists for 365 days
• Form suppression cookie — session or persistent (7–30 days), prevents re-display of the pop-up form to visitors who have dismissed or completed it
• Click tracking cookies — if the visitor arrives via an AWeber broadcast email link, a cookie may be set to attribute on-site behavior back to the campaign click

Data collected:

• Subscriber email address (and optional fields: name, phone, custom attributes)
• Form interaction events: impressions, submissions, and conversion rates per form variant
• Referral source for the subscription (page URL, UTM parameters at time of submission)
• Post-subscription on-site activity if AWeber's tracking pixel is deployed for campaign attribution

Email tracking:

• AWeber broadcast and autoresponder emails include tracking pixels and click-wrapped links (clicks.aweber.com) that report open rates and click-through events back to AWeber
• These are email-side tracking components, not website-side scripts

Consent & Compliance

AWeber scripts are classified as marketing — they serve email subscriber acquisition and campaign attribution purposes. Under GDPR and ePrivacy, two separate consent requirements apply: (1) the email signup form itself requires GDPR-compliant explicit opt-in consent for marketing email communications (the form is the consent mechanism, provided it includes clear disclosure and no pre-checked boxes); and (2) any AWeber cookies used for campaign attribution, form suppression, or behavioral triggering require cookie consent under the ePrivacy Directive.

The pop-up display trigger evaluation (behavioral signals like exit intent and time on page) and the persistent attribution cookies are non-essential processing that requires consent before the script fires.

Under CCPA/CPRA, collecting email addresses for marketing communications requires disclosure in the privacy policy. The California Consumer Privacy Act also requires opt-out rights for any sale or sharing of subscriber data. AWeber is a US-based company; EU data transfers rely on Standard Contractual Clauses.

Should You Block This Without Consent?

Yes. AWeber scripts set persistent cookies for marketing attribution, use behavioral triggers for pop-up targeting, and serve email subscriber acquisition — all of which constitute marketing data processing requiring explicit opt-in consent under GDPR and ePrivacy. Block AWeber scripts until marketing consent is granted.