Zendesk Chat

Overview

Zendesk Chat (formerly Zopim) is a real-time messaging widget that connects website visitors with customer support agents. The widget appears as a chat bubble in the corner of web pages, allowing visitors to initiate conversations, receive automated responses from chat bots, and engage with human agents. Zendesk Chat is part of the broader Zendesk customer service platform and is widely deployed across e-commerce, SaaS, and service-oriented websites.

What This Script Does

The Zendesk Chat widget loads from static.zdassets.com and ekr.zdassets.com, initializing the chat interface and establishing a real-time connection to Zendesk's messaging servers.

• Scripts loaded: static.zdassets.com/ekr/snippet.js — the Web Widget (Classic) or Zendesk Messaging snippet that renders the chat bubble, loads the conversation interface, and manages real-time communication
• Pre-chat forms: The widget can display a pre-chat form collecting the visitor's name, email address, and department selection before connecting to an agent
• Cookies set:
  • __zlcmid — First-party cookie (1-year expiry). Persistent visitor identifier that links the current session to previous chat interactions, enabling agents to see conversation history.
  • __zldp — First-party cookie. Tracks the visitor's page navigation path for the chat session.
  • __zlcid — First-party cookie. Chat session identifier.
  • __zprivacy — First-party cookie. Records the visitor's cookie consent state for the Zendesk widget.
• Data collected: Page URL, referrer, browser user agent, IP address (for geolocation), visitor navigation path, pre-chat form submissions, and chat transcript content
• Real-time connection: The widget establishes a WebSocket connection to Zendesk's servers to enable instant message delivery between visitor and agent
• Proactive triggers: The widget can be configured to automatically display chat invitations based on visitor behavior (time on page, scroll depth, specific URL patterns), which activates tracking before the visitor initiates interaction

Consent & Compliance

Zendesk Chat falls under the functional consent category.

Under GDPR and ePrivacy, the core chat functionality serves a functional purpose — enabling customer support communication. However, the __zlcmid cookie is a persistent identifier (1-year expiry) that tracks visitors across sessions even when they do not initiate a chat, which goes beyond strictly necessary functionality. Proactive chat triggers that monitor visitor behavior (page views, time on page) before any interaction constitute non-essential tracking under the ePrivacy Directive. The pre-chat form collects personal data (email, name) requiring a GDPR-compliant legal basis.

Under CCPA/CPRA, visitor data collected by the chat widget (IP address, browsing path, chat transcripts) constitutes personal information. This data is processed for customer service delivery, but the persistent visitor identifier enables cross-session profiling that may require disclosure.

Zendesk is certified under the EU-US Data Privacy Framework.

Should You Block This Without Consent?

Conditional. If the chat widget loads passively on every page (setting the __zlcmid tracking cookie and monitoring visitor behavior for proactive triggers), it should be blocked until functional consent is granted. If the widget is configured to load only when the visitor clicks a "Chat with us" button (click-to-load pattern), it can be treated as a service explicitly requested by the user. The recommended approach is to show a static chat button that loads the full Zendesk widget only after the visitor clicks it or after functional consent is obtained.