How it works
Under the GDPR and the ePrivacy Directive, tracking must wait until the visitor agrees to it. Once a day, we visit your page as a first-time visitor who has not clicked anything, and check:
- Tracking cookies: a first visit must not receive cookies from Google Analytics (
_ga,_gid), Google Ads, the Meta pixel (_fbp), Hotjar, Microsoft Clarity and Ads, LinkedIn, TikTok and similar. - Tracker scripts: Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, the Meta pixel, Hotjar, LinkedIn Insight, the TikTok pixel, Microsoft Ads and Microsoft Clarity should come with a consent manager that holds them back.
- Google Fonts: loading fonts from Google's servers sends every visitor's IP address to Google before any consent. A German court fined a site for this in 2022, so we warn about it even when a consent manager is present.
Statuses
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| OK | No trackers on the first visit, or trackers held back by a consent manager. |
| Warning | Tracker scripts without a recognised consent manager, Google Fonts loaded from Google, or we could not connect. |
| Failed | Tracking cookies are set before consent. |
By default you are notified of warnings and failures.
Fixing common problems
- Tracking cookies before consent: load tracking only after consent. Use a consent manager such as Cookiebot, OneTrust, Didomi, Axeptio or Klaro, and enable Google Consent Mode in Tag Manager.
- Google Fonts: download the fonts and serve them from your own domain. Tools such as google-webfonts-helper make this quick.
- This check gives a first signal, not legal advice. Ask your data protection officer about your own situation.