Glossary
Cookie consent
Cookie consent is the visitor’s permission to store or read cookies — and often to run similar tracking — that are not strictly necessary for the service they asked for. Under GDPR and the ePrivacy rules most EU sites follow, that usually means getting a clear choice before marketing, analytics, or profiling tags fire.
Consent vs. necessary cookies
Strictly necessary cookies (session, security, load balancing) typically do not need opt-in. Everything else — analytics, ads, social widgets, heatmaps — generally needs a valid legal basis, and for many sites that basis is consent obtained before those tags load.
A consent banner is how most sites collect that choice. The banner is not the whole story: you still need to know whether scripts respect Reject all and whether your cookie list matches reality.
What “valid” consent looks like
- Freely given — no pre-ticked boxes for non-essential categories.
- Specific — separate purposes where required, not one blanket Accept.
- Informed — plain language about what cookies do.
- Easy to withdraw — as simple as giving consent.
- Documented — you can show what was offered and what the user chose.
How CookieComply fits
CookieComply does not display a banner or store visitor choices. It scans a live page in Chrome and reports which cookies and trackers load, including before consent when you need evidence. Use it to verify that your CMP and tag setup match what legal and marketing promised — after launches, vendor changes, or regulator questions.
Frequently asked questions
- Is a cookie banner the same as cookie consent?
- The banner is the UI; consent is the legal outcome. You need both working correctly: the banner must offer real choices, and your site must honor them when tags load.
- Do I need consent for every cookie?
- Not for strictly necessary cookies. For most analytics, advertising, and third-party marketing tags in the EU, you typically need consent (or another valid basis) before they run — check with counsel for your case.