Ortto

Overview

Ortto (formerly Autopilot) is a customer data and marketing automation platform that unifies website analytics, customer journey building, and multi-channel messaging into a single system. Unlike standalone analytics tools that only observe, or standalone email platforms that only send, Ortto bridges both — it watches what visitors do on your website and then acts on that data by triggering personalized campaigns across email, SMS, in-app messaging, and push notifications.

For website operators, Ortto's presence means a JavaScript tracking snippet is loaded on every page. This snippet is the data collection layer that feeds Ortto's customer profiles, journey triggers, and campaign targeting. Understanding what it collects and how that data flows is essential for accurate consent classification.

What This Script Does

Ortto's tracking script performs extensive behavioral data collection and visitor identification:

• Page view tracking: Records every page a visitor views, including URL, page title, referrer, and timestamp. This data builds a chronological activity history for each visitor.
• Event tracking: Captures custom events such as button clicks, form submissions, video plays, and other interactions configured by the site operator. Events can trigger automated marketing journeys.
• Visitor identification: Sets persistent cookies to assign a unique identifier to each visitor. When a visitor later identifies themselves (by submitting a form, logging in, or clicking an email link), Ortto merges the anonymous browsing history with the known contact profile.
• Form capture: Automatically detects and captures form submissions on the page, extracting field values like email addresses, names, and phone numbers to create or update contact records in Ortto.
• UTM and attribution tracking: Reads URL parameters (UTM source, medium, campaign) and referrer data to attribute each visitor's session to a marketing channel or campaign.
• Session recording context: Collects browser metadata including device type, screen resolution, operating system, and browser version to enrich contact profiles.
• Real-time data transmission: Sends collected behavioral data to Ortto's servers in real time, enabling immediate journey triggers and live visitor activity views.

Consent & Compliance

Ortto's tracking script is a marketing and analytics tool that collects personal data (through persistent identification cookies and form capture) and uses it for targeted marketing campaigns. This places it firmly in the category of scripts that require explicit consent under GDPR, ePrivacy Directive, and similar privacy regulations.

The persistent cookies set by Ortto are not strictly necessary for delivering the website's core functionality. They exist to build marketing profiles and enable behavioral targeting — purposes that require informed, freely given consent from the visitor.

Key compliance considerations for website operators:

• Cookie consent: Ortto's tracking cookies must not be set before the visitor grants marketing or analytics consent.
• Data processing agreement: Ensure a DPA is in place with Ortto, as the platform processes personal data on your behalf.
• Data subject rights: Visitors who exercise their right to erasure or access must have their Ortto profiles addressed alongside other data stores.
• Cross-channel consent: If Ortto triggers email or SMS campaigns based on website behavior, ensure those channels have independent consent where required.
• Form capture disclosure: If Ortto automatically captures form submissions, this should be disclosed in your privacy policy.

Should You Block This Without Consent?

Ortto's scripts perform behavioral tracking, set persistent identification cookies, capture personal data from forms, and feed marketing automation campaigns. These activities clearly require consent under privacy regulations. The script should not load until the visitor has granted marketing or analytics consent. Yes.