How to audit cookies manually?
You can manually audit cookies using your browser’s developer tools to see which cookies are set and when.
- Open your website in Incognito/Private mode to avoid existing cookies.
- Open Developer Tools (right-click → Inspect) in most browsers.
- Go to the Application / Storage tab and select Cookies for your domain. Check out the detailed instruction to check cookies manually.
- Reload the page before giving consent and note which cookies are set.
- Accept cookies via the consent banner and check again.
- Identify each cookie’s purpose and category (necessary, analytics, marketing, etc.).
Only strictly necessary cookies should load before consent. Any non-essential cookies appearing earlier may indicate a compliance issue.
