My website does not use cookies directly, but I do use some services for visitor analytics such as Umami and Cloudflare analytics. Is it a requirement to have a cookie banner like some sites have before using Adsense?
If your website doesn’t use cookies directly but relies on services like Umami and Cloudflare Analytics, you may not need a cookie banner, as Umami is typically cookie-free and Cloudflare Analytics is privacy-focused. However, if you plan to use Google AdSense, it does use cookies for personalized ads, which means you must comply with GDPR (EU users) and other privacy laws by displaying a consent banner. If you’re only showing non-personalized ads, a banner may not be required, but you should still have a privacy policy explaining data collection. Check Google’s policy for the latest requirements!
If you're using services that track visitor data, it’s a good idea to have a cookie banner to keep things transparent with your visitors.
Even if your site doesn’t use cookies directly, you probably still need a cookie banner. Especially if you’re using third-party tools like Umami, Cloudflare Analytics, etc. These services often drop cookies to track users, gather analytics, or serve personalized ads, which can fall under privacy laws like GDPR, the ePrivacy Directive, or CCPA. Since AdSense is involved and collects data for targeted ads, it's super important to let users know and get their OK before any non-essential cookies kick in. Long story short: if you're serving visitors from the EU or California, a cookie banner with clear choices is a must.