Upon opening almost all the websites we come across either a popup or a banner asking for consent to use cookies on the website we are on. There are plenty of different types of consent forms in use by different websites. But most of them use the kind format that is not compliant with the GDPR law enforced by European Union.

Thus in order to comply with GDPR, your website should have a proper cookie consent form which abides by all the laws put forward by GDPR. Now you might be asking the most obvious question? What are the requirements of a GDPR compliant cookie consent form?

By reading this article, you will get an insight into the most important factors you should consider while setting up a cookie consent form/cookie consent bar for your website.

Importance of a Cookie Consent Form

A cookie consent form is what notifies users regarding the presence of cookies on a website for the first time. Majority of users may not be even aware of what a cookie is, thus it should be informative and at the same time short and precise as to invite the attention of users.

In the fast pacing world, most people will not even care about going to the cookie policy of the website in order to learn about cookies that are present on the website. That is when cookie consent forms become really important. You can either persuade your visitors to read the entire cookie policy or get consent for placing cookies on their web browser by creating such a cookie notice.

Requirements of a GDPR Compliant Cookie Consent

A GDPR compliant consent form should be created keeping in mind all the factors given below.

1. There shouldn’t be any pre-ticked columns in it

It was a common practice before GDPR to employ pre-ticked columns on the cookie consent form and assuming user’s consent for cookies by that denying the right of the user to have control over their personal data. The GDPR EU cookie law has clearly stated in it to remove such columns from websites.

2. Short and precise

The consent form should only have relevant details in it thus keeping it short and easily grabbing the attention of its users. But it must contain in it the below-given details.

  1. It should inform users that their website uses cookies.
  2. They can opt-out of cookies if they prefer.
  3. A link to the page where they can find more information on cookies and their privacy policy.
  4. Add a link or provide information to users on where they should go for making changes on consent given or denied.

3. Shouldn’t be of implied consent

Many websites consider consent as freely given. When using phrases like ” by visiting our site you agree to our use of cookies” and providing only “I agree” or “Accept” buttons comes under that category. Thus make sure your cookie consent bar has at least two buttons so(Accept & Reject)that users have an option other than accepting cookies. It would be much better if the cookie consent form on your website has cookies divided into different categories so that users can choose which category to enabled and which is to disabled on the website.

4. Clear and straightforward language

The message should be easily understandable to users so they are able to make a fair decision as to enable or disable cookies to whether or not allowing it on the website.

5. Allow Pop-ups

If users aren’t interested in allowing or denying consent right when they open a site, you can always remind them by allowing pop-ups on the website. By clicking on the pop-up window users will be able to go to the cookie consent bar again.

Conclusion

Following all these strictly will definitely help you achieve compliance. Still, it can’t be considered as a legal document to claim compliance of cookies. There might be many other actions required depending on the type of cookies present on your website. So you should be aware of all the cookies that are active on your site and about the data they need to store to take effective step towards compliance.