In this post, we aim to answer two questions: What are cookie consents? Do they affect user experience?  To start with, we should know what a cookie is. Cookies, not those you eat with your milk, are messages that web servers pass to your web browser. This happens when you visit different internet sites. Your browser stores each message in a small file called cookie.txt. When you request another page from the server, your browser will then send the cookie back to the server. Cookies provide a way for the website to recognize you and keep track of your preferences.

What are cookie consents

Cookie Consent is one of the simplest and most popular cookie notification plugins developed.  One of the most popular aspects of the Cookie Consent plugin is its simplicity and ease of use. All you need to do is simply install and activate the plugin to automatically add the cookie consent notification bar. We will no longer need configuration settings. On activation, the plugin creates and populates a page on your site with information about your cookie policy and automatically links to the page from the notification bar. So if you’re using the default settings, it’s a matter of seconds to get up and running.

What are cookie consents? Do they affect user experience?

Cookies of both first and third party provenance on websites track users in many different ways. An example is the IP address or merely the actions and behavior of users on the site and from site to site. Because of the broad definition of personal data in the GDPR, if you use cookies, you need to ask for consent from your users. You need to do that before setting any cookies other than the strictly necessary. Cookies that track direct personal data or data that can potentially be connected or singled out to identify or track a person, must be taken away. An appropriate update, in accordance with the regulations, should be applied to the cookie policy and cookie consent. Many modern websites have hundreds of useful and active cookies and online tracking in use.

What is GDPR?

The GDPR or General Data Protection Regulation is an ePrivacy regulation.

The six data protection principles contained in the GDPR:

  • Lawfulness, fairness, and transparency
  • Purpose limitations
  • Data minimization
  • Accuracy
  • Storage limitations
  • Integrity and confidentiality

To process data, you need a ‘lawful basis’

The GDPR sets out six lawful bases for processing personal data:        

  1. Consent – the individual has given clear consent for you to process their personal data for a specific purpose. More on that in the next section.
  2. Contract – the processing is necessary for a contract you have with the individual, or because they have asked you to take specific steps before entering into a contract.
  3. Legal obligation – the processing is necessary for you to comply with the law.
  4. Vital interests – the processing is necessary to protect someone’s life.
  5. Public task – the processing is necessary for you to perform a task in the public interest or for your official functions, and the task or function has a clear basis in law.
  6. Legitimate interests – the processing is necessary for your legitimate interests or the legitimate interests of a third party unless there is a good reason to protect the individual’s personal data which overrides those legitimate interests.

Source: White Fuse Media

Cookie Consent Models

Information Only

This model tells the user that cookies are in use in the site. Their only choice is to either accept the fact or navigate away.

Implied Consent

The key differentiator to the Information Only model is that the site provides the ability to directly opt-out or refuse cookies, even though they are set by default on the first arrival.

Soft Opt-In

Soft opt-in can look a lot like Information Only, however, the crucial difference is that cookies are blocked on the first arrival to the site or the landing page. They consider any further user interaction, such as clicking on a link to a second page, as consent, and normally set cookies on the second page.

Explicit Consent

With this model, you have to block cookies until users perform a specific action that signifies their acceptance of cookies. The action should only signify that acceptance. Essentially this means they have to tick a box or click a button or a link that says ‘I accept cookies’ or something very similar.

Mixed Consent

As the name suggests, this is really a hybrid approach. They apply different models to different types of cookies according to their purpose. An example would be relying on Implied Consent for web analytics and Soft Opt-in for third-party advertising.

More about cookies

Cookies Are Beneficial

We commonly use cookies to “maintain the state” of a browser session. For example, users can place items in a shopping cart, switch to another page or even another site, and when they come back, the site recognizes them and the current state of the cart. Cookies contain a range of URLs (addresses) for which they are valid. When the Web browser or other HTTP application sends a request to a Web server with those URLs again, it sends along the related cookies. For example, if your user ID and password are stored in a cookie, it saves you from typing in the same information all over again when accessing that service the next time. By retaining user history, cookies allow the website to tailor the pages and create a custom experience for each individual.

Your Cookies Know You

Quite a bit of personal data may reside in the cookie files in your computer. As a result, this storehouse of private information is sometimes the object of attack

First-Party Personal Cookies

The default settings in your Web browser typically allow “first-party” cookies, but not “third-party” cookies. The websites you visit create first-party cookies. They keep track of your personal preferences and the current session as mentioned above.

Third-Party Tracking Cookies

Websites create third-party cookies other than the one you are currently visiting; for example, by a third-party advertiser on that site. The purpose of such cookies is usually to track your surfing habits. This may be a reason why third-party cookies are considered an invasion of privacy. This is also considered to be riskier than first-party cookies.

Configuring Settings

A Web browser can be configured so that only first-party cookies coming from the originating sites are maintained. Set the configuration settings to prevent all cookies from being stored in your computer. But that severely limits the Web surfing experience. To change settings, look for the cookie options in your browser in the Options or Preferences menu.

Source: PC Mag Encyclopedia

Conclusion

Cookies and cookie consents are there for a reason. They do not just pop-up and hang in there to bother you or keep track of your data. If you want to learn more about Cookie Consents, we assure you they are easy to decipher and understand as well.

 

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