"Cookieless" specifically means what it says: no cookie. It doesn't mean no identifier at all, most tools that call themselves cookieless (SimpleStat included) still store a randomly generated id on the visitor's device, just not as a cookie, and not as a fingerprint built from screen size, fonts and timezone either. The identifier moves to local storage instead, which changes what it's subject to, not whether one exists.
Why the mechanism matters, not just "is there an id"
A cookie set by an analytics tool is usually a cross-site cookie from the browser's point of view (the tracking domain isn't the site you're visiting), which is exactly the kind of storage Safari, Firefox, and an increasing share of Chrome block outright, regardless of how the cookie is configured. Local storage, set directly by a script running on the page itself, doesn't have that problem, it's genuinely first-party no matter which domain the analytics requests go to. Cookieless, in practice, is often less about privacy philosophy and more about actually working reliably across browsers.
What this identifier actually does and doesn't do
- Tells a returning visitor apart from a new one, on this specific site
- Isn't shared with, or readable by, any other website, each site's local storage is isolated to that site's own domain
- Carries no personal information, it's a random value with no meaning outside "same browser, same site, seen before"
- Isn't combined with data from other sites to build a profile of who a visitor is elsewhere
What it doesn't survive: the visitor switching devices or browsers, clearing site data, or browsing in a mode (private/incognito) that wipes storage on close. In those cases a visit looks "new" again, the same limitation any privacy-respecting analytics approach has, cookie-based or not.
Why it usually skips the cookie banner requirement
Consent requirements are triggered by storing non-essential data on a visitor's device, not by "having analytics" as a category. No persistent storage, no consent needed for the analytics itself, in most cases. We cover the specifics in do you need a cookie banner for analytics?