When hearing the word “cookies”, website functionality is probably not the first thing that comes to your mind. For most internet users, cookies are often associated with user tracking and collecting information.
There are way more different types of cookies out there and one of them is functional cookies. Without them, it would be impossible to perform certain actions on a website that does not involve running personalized ads to suit users’ needs. Not all the cookies perform the same action.
What Are Functional Cookies?
Functional cookies, also called functionality cookies, are cookies used to enhance a website's performance and functionality. Without them, certain functions of the website may not be available. They are used to remember user preferences and settings to enhance browsing experience.
However, they are not vital for a website to run, but they allow websites to remember important information and user preferences. Functional cookies allow websites to maintain personalized interactions and seamless browsing experience.
Functional cookies can be first-party, third-party, persistent, or session cookies.
Functional cookies are not considered strictly necessary cookies. Thus, they need explicit cookie consent.
What Functional Cookies Are Used For?
Functionality cookies are used to enhance the performance of websites. They help site owners provide a higher level of content personalization and usability. Functional cookies allow many functions that website users often take for granted, like remembering login data, region, language, and prividing enhanced content.
Remembering such information allows websites to personalize the experience for particular users, depending on their location, for example, prioritizing news stories and weather reports. All of this happens, if a user decides to give its consent and opt-in to cookie tracking.
Functional cookies help to provide services that a user requests. In this case, they are similar to strictly necessary cookies. By remembering user preferences, functional cookies boost a website’s performance and make browsing easier.
Giving consent and selecting to enable functional cookies may be a less stressful task because they do not track user information across websites, unlike advertising cookies.
Examples of the use of functional cookies
Functional cookies could be used for a variety of functions, including:
- Content personalization: Functional cookies can remember your name or address. So, they save time when you need to enter this information into online forms. When you are looking for a flight, they remember your departure destination, so you don’t need to enter it each time.
- Relevant content delivery: Functional cookies allow you to deliver the most relevant and interesting content to your users, such as local news or weather forecasts.
- Settings preferences: Functional cookies allow websites to remember user settings like login data, region, or language options. Thus, users do not need to adjust their settings repeatedly each time they visit the website.
- Interface preferences: Functional cookies help to remember user preferences for display size, themes, or layout.
- Handling shopping cart data: Functional cookies allow website users to keep items in their shopping cart as they browse, improving the buying experience.
- Writing comments and chating: Functionality cookies allow website users to publish their comments on news websites or blogs, use webchats, and keep your preferences on a particular website.
If you want to find out what kind of cookies are operating on your website, enter your address below and use the unique Cookie Scanner from CookieScript:
Do Functional Cookies Track User Information?
Functional cookies don’t collect user personal information and don’t track user activity across websites. They are completely anonymous. However, they are not considered strictly necessary cookies, so they need cookie consent.
Do Browsers Allow Functional Cookies?
Browsers typically allow functional cookies by default.
However, most modern browsers let users turn off any cookies they don't wish to accept, including functional cookies. Even strictly necessary cookies could be blocked by browsers, rendering some websites unusable.
Read the following articles for more details:
How to Implement Functional Cookies in a Privacy Laws-Compliant Way?
Implementing functional cookies in a privacy laws-compliant way requires the knowledge of global privacy laws, such as GDPR, CCPA, PIPEDA, and others. Follow these best practices for implementing functional cookies:
- Disclose cookies transparently: Disclose the use of cookies in your Privacy Policy and a cookie notice. Clearly explain the types of cookies used, the purpose of each cookie type, their duration, and other relevant information. Also, include information about any Third-Party Cookies used.
- Provide a cookie declaration. Scan your website for cookies, local storage, and session storage, and list them on your cookie declaration. Use automation tools like CookieScript Cookie Scanner to scan your website and update the cookie declaration report regularly.
- Obtain cookie consent: Implement user consent mechanism that allows users to accept or reject cookies, including functional cookies. Provide a granular option for accepting or rejecting different cookie types separately. User consent mechanism must have the option to adjust cookie preferences at any time. The easiest and the most popular way to collect user consent is by using a cookie banner.
CookieScript CMP allows you to disclose cookies, provide a cookie declaration, and obtain user consent easily:
How to Disclose Functionality Cookies?
To comply with the latest privacy regulations worldwide, such as the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), websites must disclose information about all the cookies your website is using, including functional cookies too.
On your website’s Cookie Banner, there should be information about the type and duration of the cookies your website is dropping. However, that may not be enough as most regulations, such as the GDPR and CCPA, are requiring more information to be disclosed, including cookie purpose and classification.
You can disclose your use of functional cookies through the following methods:
- A Privacy Policy
- A Cookies Policy
- A Cookie Banner.
You don't need a separate Cookie Policy if you already have a comprehensive Privacy Policy that includes a Cookies Policy as well.
Note that you need a Privacy Policy and a cookie banner on your website. The Privacy Policy is used to disclose your cookie usage practices (why you use cookies, what types of cookies you use, etc.) and inform users that they have rights to accept or reject cookies, while a Cookie Banner is used to obtain cookie consent.
CookieScript Privacy Policy Generator can help you to create a Privacy Policy for your website automatically.
Read more about:
- What is the difference between a Privacy Policy and a Cookie Policy?
- Can AI create a Privacy Policy?
- Privacy Policy for e-commerce stores.
Your Best Cookie Management Solution
The most fundamental way to disclose functional cookies is to choose a consent management provider. CookieScript has a unique Cookie Banner to work with and in that way your website can remain compliant with all the privacy laws around the world and users can make an informed decision on cookie tracking, including functionality cookies as well.
If you want a GDPR-compliant consent management solution that will analyze and group your website cookies effortlessly, choose CookieScript – a solid cookie manager that supports most content management platforms worldwide and automatically analyzes your website cookies and lists them in your cookie declaration so users can make an informed decision on cookie tracking.
Functional cookies are key for some aspects of the website to work properly and your users should be aware of this so they make the right decision when accepting cookies. With a Cookie Banner from CookieScript, it’s easy to inform your visitors – place the Cookie Banner at the bottom of your website’s homepage screen and let CookieScript do the rest.
In 2024, users ranked CookieScript CMP on G2, a peer-reviewed website, as the best CMP for small and medium-sized companies.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are Functionality Cookies?
Functionality cookies are cookies used to enhance a website's performance, functionality, and to remember user preferences and settings. Without them, certain functions of the website may not be available. However, they are not vital for a website to run, but they allow to remember important information and user’s preferences. Information about functionality cookies should be disclosed in your Cookie Banner. Use CookieScript CMP to create a cookie consent banner and obtain cookie consent from users.
Are functionality cookies strictly necessary?
Functionality cookies are not strictly necessary, they only allow to perform functions that can enhance the browsing experience and remember user preferences. However, to comply with the privacy regulations, websites must disclose information about all the cookies used, and get cookie consent to use cookies. You can easily do that by using a Cookie Banner from CookieScript.
Do functional cookies track user information?
Functional cookies don’t collect user personal information and don’t track user activity across websites. They are completely anonymous. However, they are not considered strictly necessary cookies, so they need cookie consent. Use CookieScript CMP to create a cookie consent banner and obtain cookie consent.
Do you need consent to use functional cookies?
Yes, you need cookie consent to use functional cookies. They are not considered strictly necessary cookies, so cookie consent is necessary. Use CookieScript CMP to create a cookie consent banner and obtain cookie consent.
