What is the AWSELB cookie?
AWSELB is a session cookie automatically generated by Amazon Web Services' Elastic Load Balancing (ELB) service when a website or web application is hosted on AWS infrastructure and traffic is distributed across multiple backend servers (EC2 instances).
The cookie is not set directly by the site owner but by the AWS infrastructure the site runs on. It appears on the first HTTP request to the server, as soon as a visitor loads a page, regardless of any specific action taken on the site.
What data it stores
AWSELB stores an identifier generated by the load balancer, used to associate a visitor with the server instance that first responded to them (a mechanism known as "sticky sessions" or "session affinity"). The value is an encrypted, opaque string generated and interpreted exclusively by AWS infrastructure.
The data generally stays between the browser and the AWS load balancer and is not shared with third parties for advertising or analytics purposes. The exact value format can vary depending on the ELB configuration used by each hosting provider.
What it is used for
The purpose of AWSELB is strictly technical: it maintains session continuity for a user when a site is served from behind a load balancer with multiple backend servers. Without this cookie, successive requests from the same visitor could reach different servers, potentially causing loss of session data (for example, being logged out of an account or losing items from a shopping cart).
For the site administrator, this cookie ensures the web application runs correctly and reliably on AWS infrastructure, and it has nothing to do with analyzing user behavior or advertising.
Does it require consent?
AWSELB is classified as a strictly necessary cookie, since its sole role is technical: maintaining a session on the hosting infrastructure. Under Article 5(3) of the ePrivacy Directive 2002/58/EC (transposed in Romania through Law 506/2004) and EDPB guidance, cookies strictly necessary to provide a service explicitly requested by the user do not require prior consent.
- It should not be placed in the "statistics" or "marketing" category of the consent banner.
- It should still be listed in the site's cookie policy, with its purpose, provider (AWS), and duration (session).
- The site administrator should confirm the hosting actually runs on AWS infrastructure with ELB, in order to document this cookie accurately.
How to block or delete AWSELB
A visitor can delete or block AWSELB from browser settings (Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari), under the per-site cookie management section. Blocking this cookie may affect how the site functions during that session (for example, losing a shopping cart or being logged out), since it is a functional technical cookie.
Because it is strictly necessary, a CMP like CookieFix should not block it by default before consent - only cookies from the statistics, marketing, and preferences categories are automatically held back by the blocking script until the visitor gives consent.
Frequently asked questions
It is a technical session cookie generated by Amazon Web Services' Elastic Load Balancer, used to keep a visitor connected to the same backend server for the duration of their visit.
No, since it is strictly necessary for the technical functioning of a site hosted on AWS infrastructure, it falls outside the prior consent requirement of the ePrivacy Directive, but it should still be listed in the cookie policy.
It is typically a session cookie that expires automatically when the browser is closed, though the exact duration can vary depending on the hosting provider's ELB configuration.
You may experience functional issues on the site, such as being logged out or losing data entered in a form, since the cookie ensures requests are correctly routed to the same server.