Cookies are small text files that a website temporarily stores in a visitor's browser. There are two types: "Necessary Cookies" that allow the website to function properly (e.g., remembering items in a shopping cart or dark/light mode preferences), and "Analytics and Tracking Cookies" used to identify returning visitors across days or for advertising retargeting.
Kanorio includes a lightweight, beautiful, and multilingual Cookie Consent Banner for all plans, allowing visitors to choose "Accept All" or "Necessary Cookies Only" when they first enter your public website.
Many site owners wonder: "Does my website really need a Cookie banner?" You can determine this by referring to the table below:
| Your website usage | Do you need to enable the Cookie consent banner? | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| Using only Kanorio's built-in basic traffic and page analytics (New vs. Returning visitors disabled, no GA4/GTM/Pixel connected) | Not required | Kanorio's built-in analytics do not write any persistent tracking cookies by default, and IP addresses are automatically anonymized before processing. Since there are no non-essential tracking cookies, you don't need to interrupt visitors with a banner. |
| Want to view "New vs. Returning visitors" in your dashboard | Must be enabled | To distinguish whether a visitor is a returning user, a cross-day anonymous identification cookie must be saved in their browser. Therefore, you must obtain visitor consent first (see ). |
| Connected Google Tag Manager (GTM), GA4, or Meta Pixel | Strongly recommended | External advertising and analytics tools place third-party tracking cookies in the visitor's browser. Under privacy regulations like the EU's GDPR, UK laws, and others, you must obtain explicit consent before these tracking scripts can be loaded. |
To ensure you don't overlook privacy settings when setting up ad tracking codes, we have integrated "Third-party Tracking Tools" and "Cookie Consent" on the same page:
Goes live on your public website immediately after saving! Once you modify the settings in "Website Settings › Tracking Codes" and click "Save," the changes will sync directly to your public website if it is already published. To test the actual experience, open your public URL in an "Incognito/Private window" in your browser to see the Cookie Consent banner at the bottom (as the browser remembers your choice in standard windows, it won't pop up repeatedly).
Kanorio's Cookie banner is not just a decorative button; it strictly enforces the visitor's decision from the underlying code:
| Visitor action | Kanorio built-in analytics behavior | Third-party tracking (GTM / GA4 / Meta Pixel) behavior |
|---|---|---|
| No button clicked yet (initial landing) | Records basic visits and duration using anonymized IPs without cookies; no cross-day identification cookies are written. | Strictly blocked! GTM, GA4, and Meta Pixel scripts will not execute until the visitor gives consent. |
| Click "Accept All" | Enables cross-day anonymous identification cookies to accurately categorize the visitor as "New" or "Returning." | Immediately loads and activates your configured GTM, GA4, and Meta Pixel tracking codes. |
| Click "Essential Cookies Only" | Your built-in traffic reports will remain intact! The system continues to track visits, duration, and button clicks using anonymous, cookie-free methods, but will not categorize the visitor as New or Returning. | Does not load any third-party advertising or analytics tracking codes, fully respecting the visitor's choice. |
Enabling the Cookie Consent Banner and pairing it with is a vital foundation for protecting visitor privacy. However, if you operate in specific countries, regions, or highly regulated industries, or if you have loaded additional custom third-party scripts via Google Tag Manager, you must still verify that your terms and data processing methods comply with local regulations (see ).
Once you have clicked "Accept All" or "Necessary Cookies Only" in that browser, the system remembers your preference and won't bother you on every page load. To preview the banner again, simply visit your public URL in an "Incognito" window.
When you have added third-party tracking IDs but disable the Cookie Consent banner, the dashboard will display a privacy compliance warning: without the banner, your public website will trigger the tracking codes immediately upon loading. Unless you are certain that your target audience's region does not require prior consent, we recommend keeping the Cookie Consent banner enabled whenever third-party tracking tools are in use.