Small text files stored on a user’s device by a website to retain stateful information, log user activity, and enable tracking.

Website cookies are the fundamental technical mechanism for non-essential tracking under GDPR and CCPA, directly necessitating explicit user consent. Correct classification (Essential vs. Non-Essential) dictates the legal mechanism for collection.

A failure to collect and respect opt-in consent before setting non-essential cookies is a direct GDPR violation, risking fines up to 4% of global turnover.

Compliance requires a robust Consent Management Platform (CMP) like Seers.ai to block these trackers pre-consent. The operational challenge is maintaining site functionality while restricting cookie access.