Do you have to notify users about cookies?
Table of Contents
Companies must notify users immediately that they use cookies or other types of data collection, on the first visit to the site. Both the Cookie Directive and the GDPR have stated that consent to the use of cookies and the collection of information must be: Informed. Specific.
Well here’s the shortish answer: You need to obtain tracking consent if your Google Analytics data is being shared with third parties (i.e., third-party cookies), and you’re tracking people inside the countries affected by GDPR. That said, most websites will need a tracking consent popup to comply with GDPR.
Is a cookie banner required?
As in the GDPR version of a cookie banner, you have the option of including a link to a cookie setting page that allows users to opt-in or out. No, it’s not necessary, but yes, it’s a good step towards transparency and user experience.
Do I need a GDPR banner?
Most certainly, yes. If you are a website that functions in any of the EU countries or has visitors from the EU, you require a consent banner to comply with the GDPR and the ePrivacy Directive. Data privacy laws often have extraterritorial scope meaning they can cover businesses beyond their geographical boundaries.
1. Fixed Footer Notification. Adding your cookie notice to your website footer is a universally smart move. Since most websites include important legal links in the footer, people know to look here for important things.
How Does Cookie Consent Affect Google Analytics Tracking? Since Google Analytics uses cookies to identify users and their actions and attributes, this means that if a user opts-out of cookies entirely, they won’t be tracked as a visitor at all through your analytics.
Are Google Analytics cookies anonymous?
Google Analytics sets first party cookies, however many accounts have the opt-out setting active to “true” which Google allows to anonymously track website metrics for the purposes of “benchmarking”. Google says this information is used to categorize a website and show a relative performance line in visit graphs.