Do you need a GDPR or CCPA banner?
Artem Rudenko
CEO, Founder
Showing a banner to ask your user for cookie consent is required in the EU (under GDPR) and in the US (under CCPA). We all know these banners are annoying, so are there circumstances under which you can avoid it?
GDPR and CCPA general requirements
Let's start by understanding what these laws require you to do. The GDPR and CCPA require you to:
- Obtain consent for data processing, or allow the user to opt out from data processing / selling
- Store the consent permanently
- Offer detailed information about data processing
This can be quite tedious to implement in-house, so it's worth considering using a SaaS solution, such as:
When do you need a consent banner?
You need a consent banner for any personalized data tracking. Let's break down what this includes. If you are tracking what individual users click, which pages they visit, and their behavior across the website, this counts. If you are storing payment transactions, messages, or personal data in a database, this would also require a consent banner.
Even if you aren't implementing data tracking yourself, you may have a dependency that requires GDPR consent. Google Analytics v4 and most other analytics tools fall into this category. Google Ads also uses cookies and would therefore require a consent banner.
When do you not need a consent banner?
For simple analytics that are not tied to particular users, you don't need a consent banner. For example, how many times was each page visited, or how many clicks did each link receive?
You can also collect behavior data (e.g. navigation between pages on the website) if no IP address, country, or user agent information is collected.
Make sure your comply with regulations
When considering if you need a consent banner, it can be helpful to consult with the official documentation, or a lawyer if you are unsure. Additionally, make sure your privacy policy and terms of service pages are up to date as these also affect compliance.