Website Cookie Scanner

A cookie scanner is a tool that is used to identify and analyze the cookies on a website. It can scan the website and provide information about the types of cookies that are being used, the purpose of the cookies, and the duration for which they will be stored. Cookie scanners can also provide information on cookies that may pose a security risk or that are not in compliance with regulations such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) or the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA).

The main goal of a cookie scanner is to help website owners understand what cookies are being used on their site and to identify any issues related to the use of cookies, such as privacy or security risks. This information can be used to make informed decisions about cookie usage and to improve the user experience and transparency of the website.

Scanning your website for cookies is important for several reasons:
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a. Compliance: Some countries have laws and regulations (e.g., GDPR, CCPA) that require websites to inform users about the use of cookies and obtain their consent. Scanning your website can help ensure compliance with these laws.

b. Transparency: Scanning your website can help you understand what cookies are being used and for what purposes, which can improve the transparency of your website for users.

c. Security: Some cookies can pose a security risk if they are not properly secured. Scanning your website can help identify potential security issues related to cookies.

d. Performance: Scanning your website can help you understand what cookies are affecting the performance of your website and how they can be optimized to improve the user experience.

By scanning your website for cookies, you can make informed decisions about how cookies are used on your site, improve user trust, and ensure compliance with relevant laws and regulations.

The Consentmo cookie scanner works by analyzing the HTTP requests and responses between the website and its users. When a user visits a website, their browser sends a request to the server for the content of the website. The server can respond by sending the content of the website along with cookies, which are small text files stored on the user's device.

The cookie scanner analyzes the HTTP requests and responses to identify the cookies that are being sent to the user's device. The scanner then examines the information contained within each cookie, such as its name, value, expiration date, and domain, to determine its purpose and behavior.

We also use pre-defined rule sets or databases to identify known security risks or privacy issues associated with specific cookies. The scanner generates a report that summarizes the results of its analysis and provides recommendations for improving the website's use of cookies.

In summary, the cookie scanner works by analyzing the HTTP requests and responses between the website and its users to identify the cookies being used, and examining the information contained within each cookie to determine its purpose and behavior.

We are scanning for the following compliance checks:

a. Does the website have a Privacy Policy page?
The scanner will fetch your sitemap and check if the store has a privacy policy page.

b. Does it have a cookie bar that has options to accept, reject and select specific cookies?
The scanner will check your website for a cookie bar. It will also scan the configuration of the cookie bar and confirm if it has buttons for selecting specific cookies, rejecting, and accepting.

c. Does the website have a Cookie Policy that lists the used cookies in the website and explains the purpose?
The scanner will check the sitemap to see if the store has Cookie Policy present.

d. Does the website use tracking services and is there any blocking to it based on the customer consent?
The scanner will check if the store has active tracking services.In case it has, it will show a result in a table view. There you will be able to see which of the services are started with an initial run of the site, and which are blocked if the cookie bar has a reject button.

e. Is there any page that allows the visitors to submit GDPR Requests, such as data deletion, data portability, etc?
The scanner will check if the site has Compliance pages setup. These are the pages from where site visitors can submit data subject requests: Data Portability, Access to Personal Data, Right To be Forgotten, etc.

f. Does the website give an option to the visitors to withdraw their consent? Does it collect and process data only after obtaining valid consent?
The scanner will check the website for an option to show the preferences popup after consent is given. It will also check if there are any tracking services that are active before consent is given.

The scanner will go through all of the above points and provide short explanation whether or not you are completing the respective check. If not, there will be a suggestion with the next steps you should take.

To check your website’s cookie compliance, you need to identify the cookies set by your website. To find that, you can scan your website with a free tool like the Consentmo cookie scanner and access the detailed cookie scan report.