Term
Cookies
Small files a website stores in a visitor's browser to remember a login, a basket or settings, or to track behaviour for analytics and advertising. Apart from strictly necessary cookies, they require prior consent.
Updated
What it means
Cookies are small text files a website stores in the visitor's browser. They let the site remember a login, basket contents or language, and they also enable analytics and tracking for advertising.
First-party cookies are set by the site itself; third-party cookies come from advertising or analytics services. By purpose they are strictly necessary, functional, analytics and marketing cookies.
Cookie rules come from the ePrivacy Directive, transposed into the Electronic Communications Act, and for personal data also from the GDPR. Apart from strictly necessary cookies, prior consent is required.
How it works in practice
Before storing analytics or marketing cookies, a site must show a consent banner offering an equally easy way to accept or refuse. Until the user agrees, these cookies must not fire.
The site must explain which cookies it uses, why, for how long and who has access. The list needs updating whenever tools change.
A static site without tracking, for example using cookieless analytics, can skip the consent banner altogether. Many companies are moving to server-side tracking and first-party data.
What to watch out for
A common mistake is firing tracking scripts before the user clicks consent or hiding the reject button. EU supervisory authorities treat this as a breach and impose fines.
Cookie consent is not one-off: it must be possible to withdraw it at any time, and the settings should be easy to reach, for example via a link in the site footer.
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