Cookie categories on the cookie banner and how to edit them
Find out what the individual cookie categories are and how to edit their names and descriptions on the cookie banner.
The cookie banner on your site asks the visitor for consent to cookies. They are divided into four categories, and the visitor decides on each of them separately. In this article you'll find a description of all the categories, their default settings and the rules for hiding categories on the cookie banner.
Necessary
Cookies needed for the site to work. Without them, the visitor can't log in, add a product to the basket or complete a form.
This category also includes the cookie that holds the visitor's consent decision. Without it, the cookie banner would ask for consent on every visit to the site.
This category is always on and the visitor can't turn it off. The law doesn't require consent for cookies that are necessary to provide the service.
Analytics
Cookies from tools that measure traffic on the site, for example Google Analytics or Microsoft Clarity. They are used to count visits, check which subpages are viewed and study visitors' paths.
Marketing
Cookies from advertising tools, for example the Meta pixel or Google Ads. They are used to target ads, measure how effective they are and show your message to people who have already visited your site.
Functional
Cookies for convenience features the visitor uses: chat, maps, a video player or a remembered site language. The site works without them, but loses some convenience.
Other
These are cookies that weren't assigned to any category during the site scan. The cookie banner shows them at the end of the preferences screen so that the visitor knows they exist.
This item has no switch, and this is deliberate. The CookieOfficer script doesn't block unclassified cookies, so the switch would be fake: the visitor would think they had refused consent, and the tracking tools would run anyway.
Cookies in the “Other” category should be categorised. You do this on the “Cookies” page, by assigning each of them to one of the four categories. Only then do they get a switch on the cookie banner and become subject to blocking.
Default category settings
| Category | Switch on the cookie banner | Default setting |
|---|---|---|
| Necessary | always on | on, can't be changed |
| Analytics | optional | off |
| Marketing | optional | off |
| Functional | optional | off |
| Other | no switch | informational item |
The switches for optional categories are off. This means that until the visitor makes a decision, cookies from these categories stay blocked and aren't saved on their device.
Once the decision is saved, the switches reflect the visitor's choice. When they open the preferences screen, they see the current state of their consents.
Hiding categories on the cookie banner
In the cookie banner editor you can decide that a category won't appear on the cookie banner. This is your setting, independent of the visitor's decision.
You can hide only a category that contains no cookies at all. A category with detected cookies must stay visible, because it is the question asking for the visitor's consent. Once it is hidden, the visitor has nothing to accept or reject, and the tracking tools run without their consent.
Showing the cookie banner again
Changing the set of categories raises the consent version. Visitors who have already made a decision will see the cookie banner again.
| Change | Cookie banner shown again |
|---|---|
| Hiding or restoring a category on the cookie banner | yes |
| Changing a category name | no |
| Changing a category description | no |
Editing category names and descriptions on the cookie banner
You can edit category names and descriptions in the CookieOfficer panel in two places. The first is the “Consent categories” section in the cookie banner editor. The second is the “Languages & geo rules” page. Whichever you choose, the change applies in both places. The article Cookie banner texts describes which text you change in which place. Adding more languages is described in Cookie banner languages.
Each category comes with a ready-made name and description, so you don't have to change anything. If you do want to align the messaging with the rest of your site, enter your own text.