Most websites don't need cookie consent banners

Summary

A recent discussion in the Mastodon tech community highlighted something important: confusion about when websites actually need those annoying cookie consent banners. The reality is that most small business websites don’t need them—at all!That said, just about every site you visit has a cookie notice that interrupt the user experience and potentially hurt conversion rates. It’s as if the enter web—or at least the web in the US—collectively decided that privacy laws require these pop-ups and banners. The truth is far more nuanced.Let me break down what’s really going on and why your business website may not even need a cookie consent banner.What Cookies Actually DoLet’s clear up what we’re talking about first.Cookies are small text files that websites store on your browser. They serve different purposes:Essential cookies handle basic site functionality such as keeping you logged in, remembering things in your shopping cart, or maintaining your session as you navigate between pages. These are necessary for the website to work properly.Tracking cookies are the problematic ones. These are the creepy ones that follow you around the web, building profiles of your behavior online to serve targeted ads or collect data for third-parties. This is what privacy laws are actually concerned about.The key distinction here is that if you’re not tracking people or sharing their data with third parties, you likely don’t need a cookie banner.What Laws Actually SayGDPR and similar privacy laws don’t mandate cookie notices. They do require consent for data processing that violates user privacy. Here’s the breakdown:You DON’T need consent for:Cookies that are strictly necessary for your website to functionFirst-party cookies used just for your own analytics (in most cases)Session cookies that expire when someone closes their browserYou DO need consent for:Third-party tracking cookies like Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, and a million other creepy marketing toolsCookies that share user ...