Rivalry2

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Original 2026-01-01

Modified 2026-03-10

1 - Nearly every website you visit, you get a pop-up that asks, “Do you want to accept cookies?”

1 + Cookie consent is permission from website visitors to use cookies-small text files that track behavior, remember preferences, and help deliver personalized experiences. Because cookies can collect personal data or track online behavior, many privacy laws require businesses to get consent before using them.

2 - Most days you click “Accept” and move on. But what actually happens when you agree-and what would happen if you didn’t?

2 + For marketers, cookie consent is more than a legal checkbox. It also helps build trust with your audience. When visitors land on your site, a cookie consent banner or pop-up gives them control over what data they share. This transparency helps establish a relationship built on respect and demonstrates a commitment to consumer privacy.

3 - Let’s be honest-no one is reading the terms and conditions. But just because we’ve all grown accustomed to accepting cookies doesn’t mean it’s the right choice for every consumer, depending on how strongly they feel about internet privacy.

3 + Getting cookie consent right also shapes your marketing capabilities. Without proper consent, you can't collect the behavioral data you need to segment your audiences, trigger marketing automations, or personalize your messaging. A well-designed cookie consent experience balances compliance with usability, making it easy for visitors to say yes while respecting their right to say no.

4 - <blockquote>We’ve all grown accustomed to accepting cookies. That doesn’t mean it’s the right choice for every consumer.</blockquote>Below, we’ll explain everything you and your customers need to know about cookies-what they are and why they matter for both consumers and online businesses.

4 + <h2>Why cookie consent matters</h2>

5 - In the meantime, if you or your customers have been wondering how cookies impact the online experience, read on. We’ve got you covered.

5 + Privacy regulations have changed how businesses collect and use customer data, but not all consent is the same. Laws like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in Europe and the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) in the US require organizations to clearly definewhythey are collecting data and how it will be used. Cookie consent specifically governs the use of cookies and similar tracking technologies, not broader permissions like email or SMS marketing consent.

6 - <h2>What is a cookie?</h2>

6 + Under these regulations, businesses must categorize cookies by purpose-such as strictly necessary (functional), analytics, or marketing-and communicate those purposes clearly to users. In the EU, users must explicitly opt in to any non-essential cookies, including analytics and marketing cookies. In California, the default is different: consumers generally have the right to opt out of the “sale” or “sharing” of their data, particularly for cross-context behavioral advertising. While the mechanics vary by region, the common thread is transparency and user control.

7 - An HTTP cookie is a small text file that lives on your computer, and stores and shares information with websites.

7 + Regulations also require organizations to define how long cookies can persist. While one year is often considered a standard for long-lived cookies, browser-level changes increasingly shape what’s actually possible. For example, Safari’s Intelligent Tracking Prevention (ITP) limits most first-party cookies to seven days, regardless of stated retention policies. This means marketers must design data strategies that account not just for legal requirements, but also for technical constraints imposed by browsers.

8 - Lou Montulli, a computer programmer, is credited with inventing the HTTP cookie in 1994 when he was working for Netscape. At the time, Netscape was trying to make the internet a place where businesses could flourish. The company was working hard to get consumers and businesses alike to adopt their web browser to surf the web.

8 + Beyond compliance, cookie consent reflects a broader shift in consumer expectations. People want to understand what data is being collected, for what purpose, and for how long. Brands that are clear and respectful about these choices tend to build more trust over time, while those that aren’t risk eroding confidence before a customer ever subscribes or converts.

9 - Originally, cookies were created to help websites remember if someone had been to the website before, and if so, to remember their preferences-stuff like their favorite items or the type of content they like to read.

9 + Cookie consent also has real implications for marketing performance. First-party data collected through cookies-such as on-site behavior-supports personalization, measurement, and optimization, but only when collected within clearly defined purposes and timeframes. Paired with zero-party data that customers intentionally share through forms, quizzes, or preferences, it becomes part of a more durable, consent-aware foundation for modern marketing.

10 - When you accept cookies from a website, you’re giving that website permission to store tiny text files on your computer. By themselves, these files can’t do anything. But when you visit a website where you accept cookies, that website can both store data on your computer and ask your computer if a specific cookie has been stored there before.

10 + <h2>Benefits of collecting proper cookie consent</h2>

11 - This is how, for example, a website is able to remember your username and display it on the login screen if you’ve allowed it. The cookie stores that username, and when you go back to that website, it checks to see if a specific cookie from that website with your username was previously stored.

11 + Implementing cookie consent thoughtfully can offer clear advantages for your business and your marketing practices, such as:

12 - By contrast, when you decline cookies from a website, that site does not have permission to store these tiny text files. As a result, it won’t recognize you on future visits. This means you may have a more generic, instead of personalized, experience when you come back to that website.

12 + <ul><li>Legal protection:Proper consent documentation helps reduce the risk of regulatory fines and legal issues associated with data privacy laws.</li>

13 - <h2>The 2 types of cookies</h2>

13 + <li>Stronger customer trust:Transparent data practices signal that you respect your audience and are trying to build a foundation for long-term customer relationships.</li>

14 - There are 2 types of HTTP cookies: first-party and third-party cookies. When you accept cookies on a website, you accept both kinds, unless the website provides you with the option to specify which use cases you accept and which you don’t:

14 + <li>More control over your marketing:Strong first-party data and consent practices let you understand how people engage with your site, even before they identify themselves, so when they do sign up or check out, you can deliver more relevant, personalized experiences right away.</li>

15 - <h3>First-party cookies</h3>

15 + </ul><h2>Key features of cookie consent collection</h2>

16 - First-party cookies are made by the website you’re visiting. Most commonly, they’re used to enhance your experience on the website.

16 + Collecting cookie consent involves several components that work together to support privacy and consent compliance while maintaining a positive user experience:

17 - First-party cookies might remember things like your username, your preferences, or the products you viewed most recently.

17 + <ul><li>Cookie consent banner:This appears when visitors first land on your site to explain what cookies you use and ask for their permission to do so.</li>

18 - If you’re a business, first-party cookies are what allow you to say “Welcome back, John!” or pre-populate a visitor’s username on the log-in page.

18 + <li>Cookie policy:The banner or pop-up links to this policy that explains in detail which cookies your site uses, what data you’re collecting, how long the cookies last, and how visitors can manage their preferences.</li>

19 - <h3>Third-party cookies</h3>

19 + <li>Granular preference controls:These let visitors choose which types of cookies they accept, such as functional or analytics cookies, rather than forcing an all-or-nothing decision. A dedicated page allows visitors to review and update their cookie preferences at any time.</li>

20 - Third-party cookies are made by a separate website that powers an experience on the website you’re visiting. A common example is serving an advertisement.

20 + <li>Consent management:A back-end log records when and how each visitor gives consent to create an audit trail for compliance.</li>

21 - If you accept cookies from a website, the advertising units featured on that website can drop cookies on your browser so they can change their targeting based on your interests when you visit that site again. These third-party advertising targeting companies learn more about your interests via the information stored by cookies.

21 + <li>Geo-targeting:Location detection allows you to show different consent experiences based on visitor location and specific regional laws. Data privacy laws vary significantly around the world, and your cookie consent approach needs to reflect where your visitors are located.</li>

22 - For example, maybe a website wants to log that you looked at women’s shoes. Thanks to third-party cookies, that website can tag your browser so that if the same provider or a partner of that provider is serving ads on another site, they know to show you ads for women’s shoes.

22 + </ul><h2>What cookies track-and which ones require consent</h2>

23 - If you’re a business, you might rely on third-party cookies to increase the efficiency of your ad spend on a digital network. If you’re a car company, for example, you can target people who are “in-market car shoppers” so your ads only get shown to people the ad networks believe are shopping for cars based on their browsing behavior.

23 + Privacy laws don’t define strict cookie categories, but they do require businesses to clearly explain thepurposeof data collection so users understand what they’re agreeing to. In practice, most organizations group cookies into three core categories based on whether consent is required:

24 - <h2>Cookies are crumbling in the privacy-first era</h2>

24 + <ul><li>Strictly necessary (functional) cookies:These cookies enable essential site functionality, such as page navigation, secure logins, and shopping cart persistence. Because they are required for the site to operate, they typically donotrequire user consent, but they still must be disclosed.</li>

25 - Until recently, the economy of third-party data was thriving as businesses collected information about consumers indirectly from a variety of sources and platforms. Then, companies unified that data to stitch together “profiles” of specific browsers and sold those to platforms to sell hyper-targeted, personalized, high-converting ads.

25 + <li>Analytics cookies:These cookies help you understand how visitors interact with your site, such as pages viewed, time on site, or navigation paths. Since they collect behavioral data that isn’t essential to site functionality, they generallydo require consentin regions like the EU.</li>

26 - <blockquote>They want to feel seen.</blockquote>Not targeted.But now, it’s gone too far.<a>Consumers are creeped out</a>. They want to feel seen, not targeted. They want a more equitable experience-one in which they have a say in how much information businesses are collecting about them.

26 + <li>Marketing cookies:These cookies track user behavior to support advertising, retargeting, and personalized messaging, often across websites or platforms. This includes cookies set by ad networks, marketing tools, or social platforms. Marketing cookies almost alwaysrequire explicit consent, as they involve profiling or data sharing.</li>

27 - Data privacy regulations hand-in-hand with consumer sentiment signal a big change for digital marketers: collect explicit consent from your users--the same as you’d collect consent to send an email or text message.

27 + </ul>Rather than focusing on who sets the cookie (for example, “social media cookies”), this approach emphasizeswhythe data is collected. A single platform-like Google-may set multiple cookies that fall into different categories, such as analytics or marketing, each with its own consent requirement. Clear purpose-based categorization helps users make informed choices and helps businesses stay compliant across regions.

28 - So what does this mean for Klaviyo?

28 + <h2>Best practices for cookie consent</h2>

29 - <h2>Klaviyo, marketing consent, and Customer-First Data</h2>

29 + Getting cookie consent right requires balancing compliance with user experience. Here are some practical tips to help you succeed:

30 - The Klaviyo platform makes it easy to obtain consent for the collection of<a>Customer-First Data™</a>-our term for data you source directly from your prospects and customers, which includes both zero- and first-party data.

30 + <ul><li>Keep it simple.Use plain language that anyone can understand, not confusing legal jargon.</li>

31 - First, simply enable data protection fields on your forms.

31 + <li>Make choices clear.Present options honestly without using design tricks to manipulate visitors into accepting.</li>

32 - You can even specify which audiences see those forms, in case you want to target only regions with strict cookie policies for now.

32 + <li>Load cookies after consent.Set non-essential cookies only after visitors have given permission.</li>

33 - Consent status for each consumer is then stored in Klaviyo’s unified customer platform, in case a brand ever needs to prove they collected data properly.

33 + <li>Test your implementation.Audit your site regularly to confirm cookies are functioning correctly and consent is recording properly.</li>

34 - Klaviyo keeps track of the following types of consent:

34 + <li>Keep your policy updated.Review your cookie policy whenever you add new tracking tools or change how you use data.</li>

35 - <ul><li>Web:when a person opts in to on site targeted content (this includes cookie consent)</li>

35 + </ul><h2>How Klaviyo cookies and Extended ID help you track and personalize onsite</h2>

36 - <li>Email:when a person opts in to email marketing</li>

36 + Klaviyo uses a<a>first-party identity cookie</a>to capture visitor activity on your site, which allows you to link behavior-such as browsing, product views, and engagement-to a profile once someone identifies themselves by signing up, clicking a campaign link, or completing checkout. This creates a persistent view of how people interact with your brand over time and enables more relevant segmentation and personalization.

37 - <li>Mobile:when a person opts in to mobile push notifications</li>

37 + WithExtended ID, Klaviyo takes this further by extending the lifespan of these first-party identifiers-holding them for up to a year-which helps your business re-identify visitors long after their standard cookie would expire. This means you can retain historical context about returning visitors and better tailor your flows, recommendations, and messaging based on past activity, not just the moment someone identifies themselves.

38 - <li>SMS:when a person opts in to SMS</li>

38 + Cookie consent helps you build a marketing foundation based on trust, transparency, and high-quality first-party data.

39 - <li>Direct mail:when a person opts in to direct mail</li>

39 + Ready to collect and activate customer data the right way?<a>Get started</a>with Klaviyo today.

40 - </ul><h2>What’s next?</h2>

41 - The industry at large has a ways to go to improve the customer experience when it comes to cookies and the behavioral data collected on websites.

42 - <ul><li>Is a pop-up letting folks know you are tracking cookies enough?</li>

43 - <li>What happens when they say no?</li>

44 - <li>Could you create a differentiated site experience for cookie collection, one that builds customer trust while you’re at it?</li>

45 - </ul>Transparency around cookies is a net positive for the industry. Consumers should know how their data is being used, and brands should be thoughtful about how they’re using it--and how they are collecting consent.