LinkCleanhttps://example.com/article?mc_cid=abc123def4&mc_eid=78fa90ce21
After LinkCleanhttps://example.com/article
mc_cid
Email marketing · Mailchimp · introduced ~2007
What is mc_cid?
mc_cid vs mc_eid
Every Mailchimp campaign URL carries two identifiers: mc_cid identifies the campaign (which newsletter blast); mc_eid identifies the recipient (who specifically clicked). Together they tell Mailchimp's tracking: “subscriber X clicked the link in campaign Y”.
mc_cid alone is roughly equivalent to utm_campaign in risk profile — names the campaign, not the person. mc_eid is the one that's identity-adjacent. LinkClean strips both, but mc_eid is the one that matters most for privacy.
Why Mailchimp puts both on every link
Mailchimp's analytics ties opens, clicks, and conversions back to per-campaign and per-subscriber engagement scores. The two-token model lets Mailchimp compute campaign-level click rates and per-subscriber engagement profiles from the same URL-tag plumbing.
How LinkClean removes it
Default-on in the email-marketing catalog. Companion to mc_eid and mc_tc.
Frequently asked
Is mc_cid the same as utm_campaign?
Functionally similar (names the campaign), but mc_cid is Mailchimp's own ID; utm_campaign is the Google Analytics campaign tag. Mailchimp adds both. LinkClean strips both.
Will the email link still work without mc_cid?
Yes. The destination page never reads it; only Mailchimp's tracking pixel does.
Which is more sensitive — mc_cid or mc_eid?
mc_eid is far more sensitive. mc_eid identifies the *recipient* (per-subscriber 1-to-1 token tied to email address). mc_cid identifies the *campaign*. Strip both.
Clean tracking on iPhone, in one tap.
LinkClean strips ~80 vendor-specific tracking parameters from any link, from any app's share sheet — and preserves functional ones like hl, t (YouTube timestamp), and q (search). No account, on-device.
