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Requesting GDPR cookie consent in Online Store

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According to the EU "Cookie Law", all websites registered in EU countries are required to inform their visitors about the use of cookies. If your target customers are from the EU, you should ask your store visitors for their permission to use cookies. 

In this article, you can find some easy ways how to add a cookie consent notice to your website.

What are cookies

A cookie is a small text file containing a message exchanged between a website and a web browser. The data on this file is then stored for the next time the user visits the website where the stored browsing information is used. Cookies can remember different website activities that a user has made. Some examples in which cookies are used by websites include logging into an account, how many times a specific page was visited or how many times a user clicked a particular button. In eCommerce, cookies allow users to select the products and store them in the cart and also to receive related product recommendations.

Are cookies harmful?

Cookies are text files with data so they cannot do anything malicious like a virus or malware. They are not programs and cannot run any programs. They can also be deleted at any time from the web browser. 

What is the EU Cookie Law about?

The cookie policy is not governed by the GDPR. It started as an EU Directive that was adopted by all EU countries in May 2011.  The requirements related to cookies are now known as Cookie Law. It was designed to protect online privacy, by making consumers aware of how information about them is collected and used online, and to give users an option to give their consent for tracking or not.
 

Which cookies are exempt from the Cookie Law?

First-party cookies which are used to remember user's data and preferences can be placed on a computer without prior consent. Typically, these cookies cannot be used to identify a specific user. These may include:
  1. Cookies that are necessary to provide the requested service. These include session ID, authentication, UI customization, and social media content sharing cookies.
  2. Statistical cookies that are managed by your business and are not used for personal data tracking.

Which cookies require user consent?

Third-party cookies which are controlled by companies other than your own, require user's consent. These typically include cookies for advertisements, analytics or embedded services, such as Google Analytics.  
 
It will be a good idea to outline the use of third-party cookies on your website in the Privacy Policy. You are not required to list each individual third-party cookie used on your site, however, you do need to clearly outline their general categories and purposes. The law does not require that you manage consent for all third-party cookies directly, but rather inform users of their usage and link to their individual privacy policies. This enables users to withdraw consent through the individual service providers.
 

How to add a cookie notification to your Online Store

There's an easy way to add a cookie notification to your Online Store.

1. Navigate to Settings > General Settings > Tracking and Analytics:

Screenshot_2021-05-24_at_16.43.18.png

2. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and in the GDPR cookie consent banner area switch the toggle to Enabled:

Screenshot_2021-05-24_at_16.44.23.png

3. Now your visitors from the European Union will see a banner where they should explicitly give their consent to the use of cookies. If they do not give such consent, their activity will not be recorded by any analytical tools you might be using.

Other helpful articles

Creating a GDPR-compliant cookie policy
Requesting marketing consent for GDPR compliance

General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and your online store

How to request user consent on forms

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