We all know what cookies are, but have you ever come across the term tracking cookies?
Tracking cookies are nothing but third-party cookies that help you – as a website owner – to track users’ behavior.
A key functionality of tracking cookies is to display advertisements to target users, thereby giving them a personalized feel. This works based on the initial behavior of the users.
In this article, we’ll be looking up various sectors of tracking cookies and will assist you in checking your website for tracking cookies.
Without further ado, let’s dive in!
What are Tracking Cookies?
Tracking cookies are small text files that are placed by websites on a user’s browser to collect data about their online behavior.
Some of the data that tracking cookies collect include information such as clicks, shopping preferences, device specifications, search history activities, browsing history, geographic location, purchasing patterns, and beyond.
What sets tracking cookies apart is their ability to track users across various sites, accumulating a complete dataset over time.
Currently, businesses are using tracking cookies as part of their organization’s marketing strategy to deploy targeted ads to the websites users visit. However, according to GDPR, CCPA, and other guidelines, usage of tracking cookies requires consent from the users.
Tracking Cookies Example
Consider these scenarios:
- A user visits a music band’s website and social media pages; the next day, they receive targeted ads for the band’s concert in their city.
- Someone searches for slippers on an eCommerce site; the following day, they encounter ads for slippers on the sites they visit.
- A user explores flight options to Prague; subsequently, they see advertisements for hotels in Prague.
In each case, tracking cookies seamlessly adapt marketing efforts to user interests, showcasing the power and potential of these tools when used effectively.
Are Tracking Cookies Dangerous?
Within legal and compliance frameworks, tracking cookies poses no inherent danger to users’ devices and contributes positively to the online experience.
However, concerns arise due to the tracking of user behavior and data storage. To overcome this, website owners must provide information and offer control to users to address privacy concerns, ensuring compliance with various global laws.
What are Third-Party Cookies?
Unlike first-party cookies, which the website operator sets, third-party cookies are placed on browsers by external services like Facebook or Google Adsense. These cookies are commonly found in advertising and analytics.
Many tracking cookies function as third-party cookies installed on a website by an external entity. Their main purpose is to gather data to support advertising and retargeting initiatives.
While these cookies play a role in improving the online experience, their usage is regulated by data privacy laws such as GDPR and CCPA. This regulation is in place to safeguard the privacy of website visitors and users, ensuring the secure handling of their data.
How Tracking Cookies Enhance User Experience
Tracking cookies can store data ranging from device type and user preferences to browsing history and interactions. It’s crucial to acknowledge the sensitivity of the data and handle it responsibly.
Tracking cookies helps in enhancing user experience. Imagine a user exploring your website – these cookies diligently observe their interactions. These cookies note the pages visited, the time spent on each page, and the products or services browsed.
This data forms the foundation for personalized recommendations and targeted advertisements. So each time a user browses the internet, the content will be personalized according to their initial interactions with the browser.
CCPA and GDPR Tracking Cookies
Understanding the legal framework surrounding tracking cookies is paramount. Various regulations, including the ePrivacy Directive, GDPR, CCPA, and other global privacy laws, dictate how tracking cookies can be employed.
Obtaining user consent, providing clear information, and ensuring opt-out options are crucial steps in compliance. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) requires active opt-in consent from users before placing tracking cookies on their browsers.
Additionally, users have the right to request the deletion of their data, emphasizing the importance of user consent and robust data protection measures.
Contrarily, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) mandates the collection of personal information, including data from tracking cookies. Websites must provide opt-out mechanisms for users concerning the use of these cookies for targeted advertising.
How to Make Your Website Legally Compliant
Obtaining user consent is a critical aspect when using cookies. Compliance solutions like the WP Cookie Consent plugin enable you to configure settings based on user location and cookie blocking.
It also provides users with a customized cookie banner, policy, and consent preference center.
WP Cookie Consent is an all-in-one solution that helps you create a fully customizable cookie consent banner and comes with features like a preview banner, cookie scan, geo-targeting, consent log, opt-out request, and much more.
The plugin helps you create banners that are individually crafted for different laws, such as GDPR, CCPA, and others, to make your website legally compliant.
Best Cookie Consent Plugin: WP Cookie Consent Vs Complianz Review
How To Check For Tracking Cookies On Your Website
Whether through manual audits or automated tools, it’s essential to regularly check your website for tracking cookies. This ensures that you remain aware of the types of cookies in use and can take necessary actions to comply with privacy laws.
Detecting cookies on your website can help identify their purpose and categorize them into essential, performance, analytics, advertising, social networking, or unclassified.
WP Cookie Consent plugin offers solutions to manage cookie consent effectively. Configuring Cookie Consent Managers based on user location, blocking specific cookies, and providing compliant banners and policies are integral steps toward legal and ethical cookie usage.
Not only does WP Cookie Consent comply with various regulatory laws like GDPR, CCPA, and ePrivacy Directive, but also comes with various features like Geotargeting, Cookie Scan, Block Cookies and more.
To check your website for tracking cookies, all you need to do is install the WP Cookie Consent plugin and simply click on Scan Now button.
Cookie Scan, being the most popular feature of the plugin, easily helps you scan all your website cookies. After a complete scan, it generates a cookie scan report containing detailed information about each cookie – its name, ID, description, duration, type & category.
Conclusion
Websites deploy tracking cookies to enhance user experiences and refine marketing strategies.
Responsible use involves addressing privacy concerns, complying with global data privacy laws, and employing compliance solutions to ensure the ethical and legal deployment of cookies.
WordPress plugins like WP Cookie Consent help address legal complications by allowing you to build a unique cookie consent banner for your website. Following the banner, they also provide various features like script blocker, consent log, geo-targeting, and much more.
Your website visitors can provide consent using the cookie banner, only after which you’ll be able to track the user data. This way, you’re not only staying legally compliant but also gaining their trust.
If you’ve liked reading this article, check out our other engaging articles as well:
- Best Cookie Consent Plugin: WP Cookie Consent vs. CookieYes Review
- Do I Need A Privacy Policy On My Website? – A Beginner’s Guide
- Key Website Essentials: Design, Content, and Compliance
Want a feature like cookie scanning? Grab the WP Cookie Consent plugin now!
