# spm — Alibaba's “Super Position Model” tracker

- Canonical: https://linkclean.app/trackers/spm/
- Updated: 2026-07-20
- Author: Ken Tominaga (https://ken0nek.com)
- Get the app: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/linkclean/id6758604043

Parameter: `spm` · Category: Ad-click identifiers · Vendor: Alibaba

> spm is **Alibaba's Super Position Model tracker** — a dotted-path identifier added to outbound clicks from Tmall, Taobao, AliExpress, and 1688. Encodes the exact pixel-position where a user clicked. Used at scale across the Alibaba ecosystem.

## What spm encodes

Alibaba's Super Position Model (SPM) breaks every page into a hierarchy of positions: site → page → module → click-position. spm values are dotted strings encoding that hierarchy — e.g. `spm=a2e0r.13076974.shop.1.5c4f1d4eXyz`. Each segment names a level in the click context.

Useful to Alibaba for understanding which surface, module, and position on the page drive conversions across an enormous catalogue. Adopted across Tmall (天猫), Taobao (淘宝), AliExpress, 1688, and several other Alibaba properties.

## Why strip it

spm doesn't carry personal identity on its own, but it does telegraph the exact UI surface the share came from — which can be more revealing than the sender intended. Forwarding it tells Alibaba's analytics where the click chain started.

## How LinkClean removes it

spm is in LinkClean's reference catalog (Alibaba family).

## Example

Looks like this in a URL: `https://item.example.com/i/123456?spm=a2e0r.13076974.shop.1.5c4f1d4eABC`

After LinkClean: `https://item.example.com/i/123456`

## Frequently asked

**Does spm appear outside Alibaba sites?**

Rarely. It's tightly bound to Alibaba's UI-position model, and the dotted-path format isn't a convention other platforms have adopted.

**Is it personal data?**

Not in the URL itself. But Alibaba can join spm to the session that produced it on their side.


---

LinkClean removes tracking parameters from links on-device — free to clean, one-time Pro. https://linkclean.app/ · Cite freely with attribution.