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Cookie Policy Generator

Last Updated: August 5, 2022

A cookie policy is a page on a website that contains information about how the site uses cookies.

EU data privacy laws require website owners to be upfront about the cookies in use on their site and gain consent from users before dropping them.

Websites can conform to the laws by using a cookie banner to gain consent from the user when they first access the website. A cookie policy can then provide further details about the cookies in use on the site.

In this article, we’ll take a look at what a cookie policy is, whether you need one, and explain how you can use a cookie policy generator to easily make a GDPR-compliant policy for your website.

Most comprehensive cookie policies contain details about all the cookies in use on the site including the name of the cookie, the cookie’s function, and where the data collected by the cookie is sent. They also contain a way for users to adjust their cookie settings, including how they can remove consent for cookies.

Earlier this year, an independent advisor to the EU’s highest court issued an opinion that said websites should also include information about the duration of cookies and whether third parties can access the cookie.

Website owners must present the information in a way that is understandable, even by those with a non-technical background. The cookie policy must also be kept up-to-date at all times. This is important because the cookies in use on a website can change frequently depending on the plugins or 3rd party tools in use.

CookiePro has an excellent cookie policy that you can see in action here. To see further examples, most websites, especially those that operate in the EU, will have one in use. You can often access a website’s cookie policy by scrolling down to the bottom of the page. The exact information sites provide in the cookie policy may differ on a case-by-case basis.

CookiePro Cookie Policy


Do I Need a Cookie Policy?

If you run a website that has users in the EU, you need to gain consent from users to drop cookies. You also need to provide users with information about the collection and use of their personal data. This means if you want to drop cookies, you need a cookie policy.

The only exception is if the only cookies in use on your website are deemed strictly necessary to the way the site works. This can include cookies used for authentication, such as saving passwords and usernames, or those used by some multimedia content players that store technical data for the duration of a user’s session.

Cookies not deemed strictly necessary include those used for advertising, analytics, or social media. There is more information about how to check the cookies in use on your site below.


How do I Add a GDPR Compliant Cookie Policy to My Site?

It is common for websites to add their cookie policy to the privacy policy section of their website. Although, you could also place it on a separate page. Either way, it must be easily accessible by users on all website pages.

In order to add a cookie policy to your site manually, you will have to check the cookies your site uses—you can do this using your browser or a cookie checker—and then list this information in the page on your website. Cookie databases such as Cookiepedia can help with defining what each cookie does.

You can use a cookie template, such as this one provided by IAPP, to help with the wording of the policy. All you have to do is add the information about the cookies in use on your site and paste the whole thing onto your website.

Alternatively, many websites will find that a dynamic cookie policy, such as the one provided by CookiePro, is the easiest way to ensure their site has a cookie policy that is compliant with European data protection laws.

The service scans the website to check which cookies are in use. It then creates a policy based on this information. The policy can then be embedded on the website’s privacy policy or cookie policy page. The policy is updated automatically when cookies on a site change, meaning website owners don’t have to constantly worry about updating the policy on their own.


CookiePro’s Cookie Policy Generator Helps Websites Stay GDPR Compliant

CookiePro provides a script that allows website owners to create a dynamic cookie policy that they can embed on their website. Using CookiePro to power your cookie policy has several benefits over manually creating one, including:

The policy automatically updates to include information about the exact cookies in use on the site.
Website owners can define the level of detail included in the cookie policy, including descriptions of the cookies and the life span of the cookies.

The policy can link to pages about the cookie on database Cookiepedia. This allows website users to find more information about specific cookies.

Websites can embed a cookie preferences button into the policy so users can manage or withdraw their consent. Websites can also provide instructions about how to manage cookies at the browser level. This allows them to delete all cookies on their computer.

As well as the cookie policy generator, CookiePro provides website owners with a full suite of tools they can use to stay GDPR compliant. These tools include an easy way to discover what cookies are in use on a website, a customizable cookie banner websites can use to gain cookie consent, and the ability to only show the banner to users within the EU.

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