Contents

  1. 1. What is a cookie policy?

Cookie Policy Template

July 19, 2021There’s no getting away from the fact that the internet is now an integral part of our lives. In fact, a poll of 2,000 adults has found that the average person spends more than a third of the year online.This means even more of our personal details, log-ins and passwords are collected and stored on various different websites. While it does make things more convenient for web users, there have been concerns about data privacy issues. In response to this, the EU cookie law was put into place to restrict how website owners handle user information.The downside is, it seems now you can’t get away from the cookie banners that pop up every time you visit a website, but although you might find them annoying, they’re needed to comply with General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).The EU data protection and privacy law came into effect in 2018 and states that if you use cookies on your website (which it’s likely you do), you need to provide a link to your cookies policy.A cookie policy is a document that lets visitors to your website know which cookies you use and what you’re using them for, as well as giving details on how they can adjust their settings or opt-out completely.In the last few years, people have become increasingly concerned about online privacy, so if you use cookies to store user information, you’re now required by law to have a link to your cookie policy on your website.If you're unsure of what you need to include in your cookie policy to ensure you’re legally compliant, you can download our cookies policy template for free. We’ve also written this article as a guide to help you understand your cookies settings a lot better. Read on to find out more.

What are cookies?

Cookies are small text files that are stored on your browser by a website you’ve visited. They can improve user experience by remembering things like passwords and log-in details, any items you have in a shopping basket and your viewing history so you get relevant recommendations. Some cookies, however, collect data from a number of different websites to decide which adverts to show you. This can be a good thing as it means you’ll only be targeted with content that’s specific to you; however, the privacy law was created because the amount of data these companies can store means that they have the potential to identify you without your consent.To give web users more control over their data privacy, the law now not only requires websites to tell visitors that they’re using cookies but to ask for permission to store or retrieve any further information too.

Type of cookies used

Although there is sometimes an overlap, cookies are generally categorised in the three following ways:How long they last for
    Session cookies –These are temporary and expire as soon as you close your browserPersistent cookies – Depending on their expiration date, these stay on your hard drive until they're erased by either you or your browser
Who put them there
    First-party cookies – The website you're visiting puts these types of cookies onto your deviceThird-party cookies – An advertiser or analytic system will place these onto your device
What their purpose is
    Strictly necessary cookies – Websites that have shopping facilities use these so that items can be held in your basket. They’ll usually be first-party session cookies, and although you don’t have to give your consent for them to be used, their purpose must be explained to the user.Preference or functional cookies – These allow a website to remember the choices you’ve made previously, such as log-in details and language preferences.Statistics or performance cookies – The purpose of these types of cookies is to improve website functions. They collect information like which pages you visited and the links you clicked on.Marketing or targeting cookies – These track your online activity so that advertisers can tailor your ads. They’re persistent and almost always third-party.

How do I know whether my website uses cookies?

Almost every website uses cookies. If, for example, your site is built on a content management system like WordPress, or you use social media “like” buttons, you can guarantee that you’ll be using cookies.To check exactly which cookies your website uses, visit Cookiebot for a free audit. You’ll get a report which also includes their purpose and where they’ve come from.Cookies are a way of collecting personal data, so to ensure your website is compliant with EU data protection law, you must tell website users about the cookies your website uses and give them the option to opt out. This law still applies to the UK (under the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations), even though it’s no longer part of the European Union.You’ll need to make sure your website has a privacy policy too. While it should include a section on cookies, it’s a good idea to provide a link to a separate cookie policy to give users more information.If your website isn’t compliant, you could face a fine or further legal action from the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). For more on making sure your website is compliant with data protection laws, check out our privacy policy article, with a free downloadable privacy policy template that you can use to start writing your own.Wherever you decide to display your cookie notice, it should be clearly visible and easy to access, containing information on how you’re using cookies and giving people the option to adjust their cookie settings.The EU Cookies Directive has a tool to help you build a cookie consent notice, so you can have peace of mind that you’re including everything you need to.Now you’ve established that your website needs a cookie policy, it’s time to think about how to go about writing one.In this section, we’ll go through some of the things you should include; however, please remember that this article is for guidance only, so if you’re in any doubt you should seek professional legal advice to ensure you’ve got everything covered.First of all, you need to plan the content for your policy by determining which cookies your site has. You can use an online auditing tool to do this. Then you can set about writing your policy, making sure that the language you use is plain and intelligible as stated in the GDPR compliance regulations.In order to be as clear and informative as possible, you should think about your formatting. For example, using bold text and tables breaks up the information and makes it easier to read. By being as transparent as possible, your readers can make an informed decision on how and if they want their data to be used.

What to include

No two websites are the same, so all cookie policies will be different, however, every document must cover the following:
    What cookies are – Give a clear definition of exactly what cookies are.Which cookies your site uses – In most cookie policy templates, you can find this under the heading 'How We Use Cookies.' Ensure that your policy is accurate by identifying exactly which cookies you’re using and provide information on the data that’s being tracked. Remember to include any cookies that are used by third parties, such as Google Analytics.How and why you’re using their data – Include things like how long cookies will stay on a user’s browser, your reasons for collecting the data and where the information is being sent to (who you’re sharing it with).The option to accept, reject or adjust their cookie settings – Visitors must consent to the use of cookies before a website can use them, so you should tell them how they can change their settings and make them aware that they can reject cookies altogether.
To save you time, we've created a free downloadable template for you to use when writing your own cookie policy. It's designed to make writing your policy much quicker and easier. All you have to do is fill in the sections that apply to your business and delete anything that doesn’t apply to you.

Summary

Most websites use cookies. This means it’s likely that you’ll need to draft up a cookie policy and upload it to your site so your users know exactly how their data is being collected and stored.Having a cookie policy is now a requirement under EU law and applies to the UK, even though it’s no longer part of the EU.Your cookie policy should:
    Be clear and easily accessibleDefine what cookies areExplain how you use dataList the reasons why you’re collecting dataGive users the option to adjust their cookie settings
Daniel Hogan
Daniel HoganCOO & Co-Founder

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Cookie Policy Template

With our free downloadable cookie policy template, you can rest assured knowing that your website is keeping compliant with the latest data protection laws.

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