datascale

Check explainer

Pre-consent cookies

Cookies set before the consent decision are a typical compliance finding.

  • to review
  • ok

What we check

Reads the Set-Cookie header of the first response, before any consent decision.

Why it matters

Cookies set before the consent decision are a typical compliance finding.

Common causes

  • Server-side session or load-balancer cookies (PHPSESSID, AWSALB) are harmless but belong in the documentation as essential.
  • A CDN or bot protection sets its own cookies, which are simply missing from the cookie documentation.
  • The backend writes affiliate or attribution cookies with the very first response, before any consent.
  • Server-side A/B testing assigns variant cookies before the consent decision.

How to fix it

Enable CMP tag-blocking; mark server-side session cookies (PHPSESSID etc.) as essential.

  • Q01
    What does a failing Pre-consent cookies finding mean?

    Cookies set before the consent decision are a typical compliance finding. Enable CMP tag-blocking; mark server-side session cookies (PHPSESSID etc.) as essential.

  • Q02
    How do you fix Pre-consent cookies?

    Enable CMP tag-blocking; mark server-side session cookies (PHPSESSID etc.) as essential.