Cookie banner · ePrivacy

Do I Need a Cookie Banner? When Consent Is Required and When It Is Not

A cookie banner is not mandatory decoration for every website. Consent is needed when information is stored on or read from the visitor's device that is not strictly necessary for the service. Without such services, many sites need no banner at all.

Measure first, then fix. The free check shows in seconds what your site sends to Google, Meta and co. before any consent. The Fix Kit (€19) shows the fix for every finding – local Google Fonts, click-to-load for YouTube and Maps, tracking after consent, security headers.

Check your website for free Get the Fix Kit Network report (€39)

Rule of thumb

On the site	Consent needed?
Cart, login, language setting, consent choice	no (strictly necessary)
Google Analytics, Meta Pixel, Hotjar, Clarity, TikTok, LinkedIn	yes
YouTube, Google Maps, Instagram embedded directly	yes – or click-to-load
Google Fonts from Google servers	better host locally, then the question disappears

The path to a site without a banner

Run the check: what loads before consent?
Host fonts locally, videos and maps with click-to-load.
Remove tracking or switch to cookieless measurement.
Update the privacy policy.

FAQ

Do I need consent for a shopping cart cookie?

Cookies strictly necessary for the service the user requested – shopping cart, login, storing the consent choice itself – generally do not require consent. They still belong in the privacy policy.

Can I run a website without a cookie banner?

Yes, if it uses no services that require consent: no analytics or marketing cookies, no pixels, fonts hosted locally, videos and maps only after a click. Cookieless analytics may fit; check your case.

Check your website for free Get the Fix Kit Network report (€39)