All You Need to Know About Magento GDPR Cookie Consent

I’m sure you have all come across the term ‘Cookies’. I’m not talking about the edible ones only, but the browser cookies as well. Each time you open a new web page, the cookie consent pops up. In this post, we look to tell you more about Magento GDPR cookie consent and how the GDPR policy affects your Magento store. We will also look at ways you can make your Magento store GDPR compliant without much fuss.

Let’s start with the unskippable question – what is a cookie?

What Is a Browser Cookie?

A cookie is a message sent from the web-server to the browser in a file named cookie.txt. It contains the browsing information (such credentials, the information you are looking for) of the visitor on that particular website.

Your web browser possibly has hundreds of such cookies stored. Every time you re-visit a website, the website uses cookies stored in your browser to recall your previous visit & actions and it customizes your current visit based on that. For instance, if you have added some items in the cart and ended your session without checking out, the browser cookies will help the website retrieve all those items in your cart.

Another way to look at this is – if you delete all cookies from your browser, you will need to re-enter your credentials every time you log into a website. If you also had some settings done on that website, all will be lost and you will have to start from scratch.

Undoubtedly, cookies are important for enhanced user experience.

However, the misuse of cookies can get equally annoying. Cookie session hijacking and Cross-Site Request Forgery on Magento are some of the nasty cyberattacks we come face to face time and again. Additionally, the overuse of cookie-based marketing has also driven netizens crazy.

This is when the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) Compliance kicked in.

Since cookies contain personal information, it is important to let the user know that your website uses cookies to enhance their browsing experience. In fact, there are many laws and regulations, like GDPR, that make it mandatory for websites to be cookie compliant.

This article will help you learn more about the GDPR cookie policy, the benefits of being cookie compliant, and how to make your Magento GDPR cookie compliant.

GDPR and Cookie Law

General Data Protection and Regulation (GDPR) is the toughest privacy regulation ever imposed. It became fully effective on 25th May 2018. In order to start or expand your Magento e-commerce in the EEA countries, it is compulsory to be GDPR compliant.

The ePrivacy Directive, under the GDPR, makes it compulsory for a website to notify a visitor visiting the website that they are using cookies. They must ask for consent and also specify why they’re using it. This is popularly known as the “Cookie Law”.

“Don’t ignore GDPR. If you handle personal data, or your business handles personal data of customers,you need to be sure that you can observe the law” -Derek O’Neill, Global Security Lead at NitroSoftware

Failing to comply with the GDPR has consequences. Penalties include paying fines up to 4% of the company’s annual global turnover or €20 million. In the event of a security breach, the company would also be entitled to paying compensation to customers. You could lose a lot of money by ignoring these privacy laws.

Benefits of Magento GDPR Cookie Consent

It is almost mandatory for a Magento e-commerce to comply with the GDPR. But how exactly do you benefit from being GDPR cookie compliant?

• Customer trust- People will feel safe if they use e-commerce sites that are GDPR compliant. If you’re not compliant, you might lose potential customers.
• Business expansion- As mentioned earlier, e-commerce can only buy and sell goods in the EU countries if they are GDPR compliant.
• Improved data maintenance at a lower cost and operational efficiency.
• Enhanced data security.
• Good reputation which will attract both customers and investors.

Types of Magento GDPR Cookie Consent Compliance

Cookie consent is a JavaScript plugin that pops up on the screen and seeks consent from the visitor to use cookies. There are three types of Magento GDPR Cookie consent compliance you can choose from for your Magento e-commerce.

1) Informational

In this case, you let the visitors know that your e-commerce uses cookies for enhancing their user experience. By continuing to use the website, they are agreeing on the same.

2) Opt-out

The cookies are enabled by default in this scenario. The visitor is notified of this once they enter your e-commerce website. They can choose to opt-out of it and disable the same.

3) Opt-in

Here, by default, the cookies are disabled. The visitor can opt to enable it.

How to Achieve Magento GDPR Cookie Consent?

Now, we’ve reached the most important question.

How to achieve this?

I have one answer for you: ASTRA

Astra Security Suite will help your Magento e-commerce become GDPR compliant with just a few clicks. One of the many features included in the package is adding GDPR consent. Moreover, it’s ready to use. You don’t need to know any coding whatsoever and it barely takes up any time.

Astra itself is GDPR compliant. We take all the necessary actions to ensure that each information of customers and visitors is secure.

Conclusion

It is essential for your e-commerce to be Magento GDPR cookie consent compliant. So, do it the easy way. Get Astra Security Suite. Trust me, you won’t regret it.

You can even try a demo for the same before getting it!

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