What are the limitations of using cookies for tracking user activity in PHP, and how can these limitations be addressed for accurate online user tracking?

One limitation of using cookies for tracking user activity in PHP is that users can easily delete or block cookies, leading to inaccurate tracking data. To address this, we can use a combination of cookies and server-side tracking methods, such as session variables or database storage, to ensure more accurate user tracking. 

// Set a session variable to track user activity
session_start();

if(!isset($_SESSION['user_activity'])){
    $_SESSION['user_activity'] = array();
}

// Update user activity
$activity = "User visited page X";
$_SESSION['user_activity'][] = $activity;

// Store user activity in a database for long-term tracking
// Example: Insert activity into a 'user_activity' table in a database
$conn = new mysqli($servername, $username, $password, $dbname);

if ($conn->connect_error) {
    die("Connection failed: " . $conn->connect_error);
}

$activity = "User visited page X";
$sql = "INSERT INTO user_activity (activity) VALUES ('$activity')";

if ($conn->query($sql) === TRUE) {
    echo "User activity recorded successfully";
} else {
    echo "Error: " . $sql . "<br>" . $conn->error;
}

$conn->close();

Keywords

cookies tracking user activity limitations accurate tracking

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