---
title: "How Does New Visitor Detection Work in Marketing Automation?"
slug: "how-does-new-visitor-detection-work-in-marketing-automation"
updated: 2024-12-12T14:20:00Z
published: 2024-12-12T14:20:00Z
canonical: "docs.mapp.com/how-does-new-visitor-detection-work-in-marketing-automation"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.mapp.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# How Does New Visitor Detection Work in Marketing Automation?

## How does the system detect new visitors in Marketing Automation?

The system uses two cookies to determine whether a visitor is new or returning:

1. wtstp_nv_s - A session cookie.
2. wtstp_nv - A persistent cookie with a 6-month expiration.

Each cookie can have one of two values:

- 1 - New visitor
- 0 - Returning visitor

## What happens when a visitor first comes to the website?

When someone visits the website, the system checks for the existence of the wtstp_nv cookie. If this cookie does not exist, both the wtstp_nv and wtstp_nv_s cookies are created with a value of 1, marking the visitor as a new visitor.

## How does the system recognize a returning visitor?

The status change from new visitor to returning visitor is controlled by the session cookie wtstp_nv_s. This session cookie must be deleted to change the visitor’s status. The session cookie wtstp_nv_s is typically deleted when the visitor closes their browser. When the visitor returns to the website, the system checks the wtstp_nv cookie again and, if it exists, changes its value from 1 to 0, marking the visitor as a returning visitor.

> [!NOTE]
> Simply closing the browser tab will not delete the session cookie. The entire browser must be closed for the session cookie to be dropped.

## Where can I filter on new visitors in marketing automation?

You can use real-time behavior filters to target new visitors based on the visitor status determined by the cookies. Find more information on this page: [Real-Time Behaviors (Live Data)](/v1/docs/marketing-automation-real-time-behaviours)