GDPR Cookie Consent Premium

Hardly anybody knows what cookies their own site sets

It is the uncomfortable part of this subject and it explains why so many cookie notices are wrong even though the site owner believes they comply.

You do not set the cookies one by one. They get set by the forms plugin, the cache plugin, the embedded video, the map, the typeface loaded from outside, the chat tool and the statistics one. Each brings its own, and with twenty plugins installed nobody carries that list in their head.

And without the list there is no way of declaring them or blocking them correctly. Which is why the feature that solves most in GDPR Cookie Consent is not the banner: it is the automatic scan that goes through the site and tells you what is genuinely there.

What it brings

• Automatic cookie scanning, detecting them and adding them to the list without you having to investigate.
• A publishable cookie list for your policy page, through a shortcode.
• A fully customisable banner, with ready-made templates so you do not start from nothing.
• Compliance with several regulations, including the European and the Californian ones.
• Wide adoption: it is among the most used consent plugins in WordPress.

What the scan finds usually surprises people

It is worth running before even deciding whether to buy, because the result changes what has to be done afterwards.

The usual outcome is finding three things. Cookies from services you no longer use, from a tool you tried two years ago whose code is still in the theme. Embedded videos that track even when the visitor does not press play, which is a very frequent case and gets solved with the player's cookie-free variant. And typefaces or maps loaded from external servers, which pass the visitor's address to a third party and have already produced adverse rulings in several countries.

The sensible reaction to that list is not declaring everything and carrying on: it is removing what you do not use. Every cookie you eliminate is one fewer to declare, one fewer to block and one fewer reason for somebody to reject the notice.

The notice is the visible part, not the whole obligation

Worth saying because some people install the plugin and consider the matter closed.

Cookie consent is one piece. Alongside it go the privacy policy describing what you genuinely do with the data, the record of processing if it applies to you, and knowing where that data goes and who you share it with. No plugin writes that for you, because it depends on your business rather than your website.

What the plugin does do, and it is not little, is give you the inventory everything else starts from.

Requirements

It needs WordPress. When enabling prior blocking it is worth checking the whole site, because it is normal for some legitimate element to stop loading until you classify it.

Alternatives in the catalogue

The other option is ConsentMagic Pro, more oriented towards obtaining acceptances with rules by country, and with direct integration into the measurement tools.

The choice between the two usually comes down to this: if your problem is not knowing what you have, the scan here is what you need. If your problem is that few people accept and you already have a clear inventory, the other one is designed for that.

On the measurement side, PixelYourSite Pro manages the tags and Pixel Manager for WooCommerce the commerce events, and both respect consent mode when the manager is configured properly.

And for seeing the reports inside WordPress, MonsterInsights.

Frequently asked questions

Does it detect the cookies by itself?
Yes, it scans the site and adds them to the list, which is what hardly anybody has documented.

Does it cover the European and Californian rules?
It is designed to comply with several privacy regulations at once.

Is installing it enough to comply?
No. The privacy policy and knowing what you do with the data are still missing. The plugin gives the inventory.

Do embedded videos set cookies?
Many do, even unplayed. There is usually a cookie-free variant of the player.

What do I do with cookies I do not recognise?
Find out which plugin they come from and, if you do not use it, remove it. Eliminating beats declaring.

Can the list be published on the site?
Yes, with a shortcode that displays it on your policy page.