Browser support

The web chat supports various devices and platforms. Generally, if the last two versions of a browser account for more than 1% of all desktop or mobile traffic, the web chat supports that browser.

The following list specifies the minimum required browser software for the web chat (including the two most recent versions, except as noted):

  • Apple Safari
  • Apple Safari Mobile
  • Google Chrome
  • Google Chrome for Android
  • Microsoft Edge (Chromium and non-Chromium)
  • Mozilla Firefox
  • Mozilla Firefox ESR (most recent ESR only)
  • Mozilla Firefox Mobile
  • Opera
  • Samsung Mobile Browser
  • UC Browser for Android

For optimal results rendering the web chat on mobile devices, the <head> element of your web page must include the following metadata element:

<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" />

Cookies and GDPR

Web chat stores an ID to identify the current session for the length that the browser is open. This allows web chat to keep the session open as users navigate your page. Once a user closes the browser, the information is removed.

  • If you supply web chat with a userID, the only data or cookies stored on the browser are from the current session. This userID can be used to delete the user's data on request, as it is also passed as the customer_id portion of the X-Watson-Metadata HTTP header, which is why the userID syntax must meet requirements for header fields defined in RFC 7230 (all visible ASCII characters).

  • If you fail to supply web chat with a unique userID, we add a first-party cookie with a generated anonymous ID. The cookie remains active for 45 days to ensure we count a user once, even with multiple visits in the same month, and not pollute billing metrics.

Web chat keeps analytics on what features are used so we can continually improve user experience. None of the data collected identifies an end user to IBM, and users are not tracked across different web sites. We only make note of behavior within web chat.