Consent and Cookies

Consent is clear agreement from a person for an organisation to collect or use their personal data. It must be informed: you need to know what you are agreeing to before you agree. It should also be opt-in, meaning you make an active choice to say yes, and you must be able to withdraw it later.

When an organisation asks for consent, it must tell you that you are giving consent, that you can refuse, and that refusing will not stop you receiving the service. It must also explain what the data will be used for, how it will be processed, that you can withdraw consent, whether the data will be shared, how long it will be stored and that it will be stored securely.

For example, a climbing club might ask before passing your phone number to a coach who runs extra weekend sessions. It cannot treat silence as a yes, and if you later change your mind, you can withdraw your consent.

Cookies

Cookies are small files that websites send to and store on your computer. They are not programs, so they cannot damage your computer. They can store data, remember your settings so you do not have to set them again, keep you signed in to an account, count how many visits you make, track the pages you browse, and help target adverts. Because they can collect personal data, websites must get your consent before using them. A banner that assumes you agree because you keep scrolling is not valid consent.

Targeted advertising

Many online services are paid for by targeted advertising. Advertisers pay more when an advert reaches someone likely to want the product, so services collect data about what people view and use cookies to build a picture of them. For example, a free recipe app might show you adverts for the exact ingredients you searched for. That pays for the app, but it means your browsing can be tracked and used to choose which adverts you see.