WordPress.org

Viktor Szépe

Rogier Lankhorst

Aert

Mark

pepe

Konstantinos Xenos

Mathieu Paapst

mujuonly

Aurooba Ahmed

Johan Holst Nielsen

<p>WP Consent API is a plugin that standardizes the communication of accepted consent categories between plugins. It requires a cookie banner plugin and, at least, one other plugin that supports the WP Consent API.</p>
<p>With this plugin, all supporting plugins can use the same set of methods to read and register the current consent category, allowing consent management plugins and other plugins to work together, improving compliance with privacy laws.</p>
<p>WARNING: the plugin itself will not handle consent. It will show you how many plugins you have without Consent API support and will improve compliance on your site by ensuring smooth communication between cookie banner plugins and plugins that set cookies or track user data.</p>
<h4>What problem does this plugin solve?</h4>
<p>Currently, it is possible for a consent management plugin to block third-party services like Facebook, Google Maps, Twitter, etc. But if a WordPress plugin places a PHP cookie, a consent management plugin cannot prevent this.</p>
<p>Secondly, some plugins integrate the tracking code on the clientside in javascript files that, when blocked, break the site.</p>
<p>Or, if such a plugin’s javascript is minified, causing the URL to be unrecognizable and won’t get detected by an automatic blocking script.</p>
<p>Lastly, the blocking approach requires a list of all types of URL’s that tracks data. A generic API where plugins adhere to can greatly<br />
facilitate a webmaster in getting a site compliant.</p>
<h4>Does usage of this API prevent third-party services from tracking user data?</h4>
<p>Primary this API is aimed at compliant first-party cookies or tracking by WordPress plugins. If such a plugin triggers, for example, Facebook,<br />
usage of this API will be of help. If a user embeds a Facebook iframe, a blocking tool is needed that initially disables the iframe and or scripts.</p>
<p>Third-party scripts have to blocked by blocking functionality in a consent management plugin. To do this in core would be to intrusive, and is also not applicable to all users: only users with visitors from opt-in regions such as the European Union require such a feature. Such a feature also has a risk of breaking things. Additionally, blocking these and showing a nice placeholder requires even more sophisticated code, all of which should in my opinion not be part of WordPress core, for the same reasons.</p>
<h4>How does it work?</h4>
<p>There are two indicators that together tell if consent is given for a specific consent category, e.g., “marketing”:<br />
1) the region based consent_type, which<br />
can be opt-in, opt-out, or other possible consent_types;<br />
2) and the visitor’s choice: not set, allow, or deny.</p>
<p>The consent_type is a function that wraps a filter, “wp_get_consent_type”. If there’s no consent management plugin to set it, it will return false. This will cause all consent categories to return true, allowing cookies to be set on all categories.</p>
<p>If opt-in is set using this filter, a category will only return true if the value of the visitor’s choice is “allow”.</p>
<p>If the region based consent_type is opt-out, it will return true if the visitor’s choice is not set or is “allow”.</p>
<p>Clientside, a consent management plugin can dynamically manipulate the consent type and set several cookie categories.</p>
<p>A plugin can use a hook to listen for changes or check the value of a given category.</p>
<p>Categories and most other stuff can be extended with a filter.</p>
<h3>Existing integrations</h3>
<p>Categorized, and sorted alphabetically</p>
<h4>Example plugin</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://github.com/rlankhorst/consent-api-example-plugin" rel="nofollow ugc">Example plugin</a>. The plugin basically consists of a shortcode, with a div that shows a tracking or not tracking message. No actual tracking is done 🙂</li>
</ul>
<h4>Consent Management Providers</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/sirdata-cmp/" rel="ugc">Abconsent Sirdata CMP</a>.</li>
<li><a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/beautiful-and-responsive-cookie-consent/" rel="ugc">Beautiful Cookie Consent Banner</a>.</li>
<li><a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/clickio-consent/" rel="ugc">Clickio Consent</a></li>
<li><a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/complianz-gdpr/" rel="ugc">Complianz GDPR/CCPA</a>.</li>
<li><a href="https://consent.studio/" rel="nofollow ugc">Consent Studio</a>.</li>
<li><a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/consent-manager/" rel="ugc">consentmanager</a>.</li>
<li><a href="https://conzent.net/" rel="nofollow ugc">Conzent</a>.</li>
<li><a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/cookiebot/" rel="ugc">Cookiebot</a>.</li>
<li><a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/cookiefirst-gdpr-cookie-consent-banner/" rel="ugc">CookieFirst</a>.</li>
<li><a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/cookiehub/" rel="ugc">CookieHub</a>.</li>
<li><a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/cookietractor/" rel="ugc">CookieTractor</a>.</li>
<li><a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/cookie-law-info/" rel="ugc">CookieYes – Cookie Banner for Cookie Consent</a>.</li>
<li><a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/gdpr-cookie-compliance/" rel="ugc">GDPR Cookie Compliance</a>.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.webtoffee.com/product/gdpr-cookie-consent/" rel="nofollow ugc">GDPR Cookie Consent Plugin – CCPA Ready</a>.</li>
<li><a href="https://getterms.io/consent-manager/" rel="nofollow ugc">GetTerms</a>.</li>
<li><a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/iubenda-cookie-law-solution/" rel="ugc">iubenda | All-in-one Compliance</a>.</li>
<li><a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/pressidium-cookie-consent/" rel="ugc">Pressidium Cookie Consent</a>.</li>
<li><a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/trustarc-cookie-consent-manager/" rel="ugc">TrustArc Cookie Consent Manager</a></li>
</ul>
<h4>Consent Requiring Plugins</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/add-to-any/" rel="ugc">AddToAny</a>.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.appfromlab.com/product/woocommerce-utm-tracker-plugin/" rel="nofollow ugc">AFL UTM Tracker Plugin</a>.</li>
<li><a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/burst-statistics/" rel="ugc">Burst Statistics</a>.</li>
<li><a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/google-site-kit/" rel="ugc">Google Site Kit</a>.</li>
<li><a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/woocommerce-google-adwords-conversion-tracking-tag/" rel="ugc">Pixel Manager for WooCommerce</a>.</li>
<li><a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/woocommerce/" rel="ugc">Woo</a>.</li>
<li><a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-statistics/" rel="ugc">WP Statistics</a>.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Demo site</h3>
<p><a href="https://wpconsentapi.org/" rel="nofollow ugc">wpconsentapi.org</a><br />
Below are the plugins used to set up the demo site:</p>
<ul>
<li>Complianz</li>
<li><a href="https://github.com/rlankhorst/consent-api-example-plugin" rel="nofollow ugc">The example plugin</a></li>
</ul>
<h4>javascript, consent management plugin</h4>
<pre><code>//set consent type
window.wp_consent_type = 'optin'

//dispatch event when consent type is defined. This is useful if the region is detected server side, so the consent type is defined later during the pageload
let event = new CustomEvent('wp_consent_type_defined');
document.dispatchEvent( event );


//consent management plugin sets cookie when consent category value changes
wp_set_consent('marketing', 'allow');
</code></pre>
<h4>javascript, tracking plugin</h4>
<pre><code>//listen to consent change event
document.addEventListener("wp_listen_for_consent_change", function (e) {
  var changedConsentCategory = e.detail;
  for (var key in changedConsentCategory) {
    if (changedConsentCategory.hasOwnProperty(key)) {
      if (key === 'marketing' && changedConsentCategory[key] === 'allow') {
        console.log("just given consent, track user")
      }
    }
  }
});

//basic implementation of consent check:
if (wp_has_consent('marketing')){
  activateMarketing();
  console.log("set marketing stuff now!");
} else {
  console.log("No marketing stuff please!");
}
</code></pre>
<h4>PHP</h4>
<pre><code>//declare compliance with consent level API
$plugin = plugin_basename( __FILE__ );
add_filter( "wp_consent_api_registered_{$plugin}", '__return_true' );

/**
* Example how a plugin can register cookies with the consent API
 * These cookies can then be shown on the front-end, to the user, with wp_get_cookie_info()
 */

function my_wordpress_register_cookies(){
    if ( function_exists( 'wp_add_cookie_info' ) ) {
        wp_add_cookie_info( 'AMP_token', 'AMP', 'marketing', __( 'Session' ), __( 'Store a unique User ID.' ) );
    }
}
add_action('plugins_loaded', 'my_wordpress_register_cookies');


if (wp_has_consent('marketing')){
//do marketing stuff
}
</code></pre>
<h4>Service-level consent</h4>
<p>In addition to category-based consent, the API supports service-level consent control. This allows consent management plugins to grant or deny consent for specific services (like ‘google-analytics’ or ‘facebook-pixel’) independently from their category. When checking service consent with wp_has_service_consent(), the API first checks if explicit consent exists for that service. If no explicit consent is set, it falls back to the consent status of the service’s category. This enables fine-grained control: a user might accept statistics cookies in general, but explicitly deny a specific analytics service.</p>
<p>Service consent can be checked and set both server-side (PHP) and client-side (JavaScript):</p>
<p>PHP:</p>
<pre><code>//check if a specific service has consent
if ( wp_has_service_consent( 'google-analytics' ) ) {
    //activate google analytics
}

//check if a service is explicitly denied
if ( wp_is_service_denied( 'facebook-pixel' ) ) {
    //service was explicitly denied by user
}

//set service consent
wp_set_service_consent( 'google-analytics', true ); //grant consent
wp_set_service_consent( 'facebook-pixel', false ); //deny consent

//listen for service consent changes
add_action( 'wp_consent_service_changed', function( $service, $consented ) {
    error_log( "Service {$service} consent changed to: " . ( $consented ? 'granted' : 'denied' ) );
}, 10, 2 );
</code></pre>
<p>JavaScript:</p>
<pre><code>//check service consent
if ( wp_has_service_consent( 'youtube' ) ) {
    //activate tracking
}

//check if explicitly denied
if ( wp_is_service_denied( 'facebook-pixel' ) ) {
    //service denied
}

//set service consent
wp_set_service_consent( 'youtube', true );

//listen for service consent changes
document.addEventListener( 'wp_consent_api_status_change_service', function( e ) {
    console.log( 'Service: ' + e.detail.service + ', consented: ' + e.detail.value );
});
</code></pre>
<p>Any code suggestions? We’re on <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/wp-consent-level-api" rel="nofollow ugc">GitHub</a> as well!</p>


WP Consent API


Louis was great helping me with an issue. Plugin works great and highly recommend!


Great Support Team


The wp‑consent‑api plugin provides a clean, standardized way to manage user consent across plugins and themes. It solves a core problem with a lightweight API. This is definitely a feature that should be integrated into WordPress core to ensure consistent and compliant consent handling by default.


Future of WP Consent Management

Simple Consent API to read and register the current consent category.

Cookiefy

<p>Cookiefy provides enterprise-grade GDPR compliance for WordPress websites through an intelligent cookie consent management system. The plugin connects to the Cookiefy service to automatically detect, classify, and manage cookies while providing visitors with proper consent options.</p>
<p><strong>IMPORTANT:</strong> This plugin requires connection to external Cookiefy services to function. Please review the “External Services” section below for complete details on data transmission and privacy implications.</p>
<h4>Key Features</h4>
<ul>
<li><strong>Automatic Cookie Detection</strong> – Advanced AI-powered scanning detects all cookies on your website</li>
<li><strong>Intelligent Classification</strong> – Automatically categorizes cookies (Necessary, Analytics, Marketing, Preferences, Unclassified)</li>
<li><strong>Multiple Core Modes</strong> – Choose between Standard, Lenient, or Strict blocking based on your needs</li>
<li><strong>Premium Banner Themes</strong> – Professional designs including Comprehensive and Compact Modern styles</li>
<li><strong>Real-time Updates</strong> – Cookie settings sync instantly across your website</li>
<li><strong>WordPress Integration</strong> – Full AJAX support with proper nonce security</li>
<li><strong>Custom Configuration</strong> – Advanced JSON configuration for power users</li>
<li><strong>Performance Optimized</strong> – CDN delivery with script preloading for fast load times</li>
</ul>
<h4>Core Modes</h4>
<p><strong>Standard Mode (Recommended)</strong><br />
* Balanced GDPR compliance with optimized performance<br />
* Blocks cookies and essential tracking scripts<br />
* Maintains good site compatibility<br />
* Best for most WordPress websites</p>
<p><strong>Lenient Mode (Lightweight)</strong><br />
* Minimal cookie blocking for maximum compatibility<br />
* Only blocks cookie writes – scripts load normally<br />
* Best page performance with reduced privacy protection<br />
* Ideal for complex JavaScript applications or performance-critical sites</p>
<p><strong>Strict Mode (Advanced Users Only)</strong><br />
* Maximum GDPR compliance with comprehensive blocking<br />
* Blocks scripts, DOM modifications, network requests, and localStorage<br />
* May cause website functionality issues<br />
* Only recommended for advanced users who can handle potential breakage</p>
<h4>Service Integration</h4>
<p>This plugin connects to the Cookiefy external service (https://cookiefy.app) to:<br />
* Retrieve cookie classification data for your domain<br />
* Access banner configuration and translations<br />
* Synchronize consent preferences (optional)<br />
* Provide compliance reporting and analytics</p>
<p>You must create an account at Cookiefy to obtain a Domain ID for the plugin to function. The service processes cookie data according to its privacy policy.</p>
<h4>Banner Themes</h4>
<ul>
<li><strong>Comprehensive (Recommended)</strong> – Feature-rich banner with detailed cookie information and customization options</li>
<li><strong>Compact Modern</strong> – Clean, minimal design optimized for mobile and desktop</li>
</ul>
<h4>WordPress Features</h4>
<ul>
<li><strong>AJAX Integration</strong> – Seamless consent handling without page reloads</li>
<li><strong>Security First</strong> – Proper nonce verification on all AJAX requests</li>
<li><strong>Caching Compatible</strong> – Works with all major WordPress caching plugins</li>
<li><strong>Admin Integration</strong> – Full WordPress admin interface with live status updates</li>
<li><strong>Consent Logging</strong> – Optional compliance logging for audit purposes</li>
</ul>
<h3>External Services</h3>
<p><strong>REQUIRED EXTERNAL SERVICE DISCLOSURE</strong></p>
<p>This plugin relies on external services provided by Cookiefy to function. By installing and activating this plugin, you acknowledge that your website will connect to and transmit data to third-party services.</p>
<h4>Primary Service: Cookiefy Cookie Management Platform</h4>
<p><strong>Service Provider:</strong> Cookiefy (cookiefy.app)<br />
<strong>Service Purpose:</strong> Cookie consent management, cookie classification, and GDPR compliance functionality</p>
<p><strong>What data is sent:</strong><br />
* Your website’s domain name (for service authentication and configuration)<br />
* User consent preferences and timestamps (when users interact with the consent banner)<br />
* Basic website analytics data (page views, consent rates, banner interactions)<br />
* Referrer information and page URLs where consent events occur</p>
<p><strong>When data is sent:</strong><br />
* During plugin initialization (domain verification and configuration retrieval)<br />
* When the consent banner loads on your website<br />
* When users interact with the consent banner (accept, reject, customize)<br />
* When cookies are detected and require classification<br />
* During banner configuration updates in the admin panel</p>
<p><strong>Service endpoints used:</strong><br />
* <code>https://api.cookiefy.app/api/cdn-config/</code> – Configuration and cookie classification data<br />
* <code>https://api.cookiefy.app/api/cookie-db</code> – Cookie classification database<br />
* <code>https://api.cookiefy.app/api/report-unknown-cookie</code> – Unknown cookie reporting</p>
<p><strong>Legal documentation:</strong><br />
* Terms of Service: <a href="https://cookiefy.app/terms-of-service" rel="nofollow ugc">https://cookiefy.app/terms-of-service</a><br />
* Privacy Policy: <a href="https://cookiefy.app/privacy-policy" rel="nofollow ugc">https://cookiefy.app/privacy-policy</a></p>
<h4>CDN Service: Cookiefy Content Delivery Network</h4>
<p><strong>Service Provider:</strong> Cookiefy CDN (cdn.cookiefy.app)<br />
<strong>Service Purpose:</strong> Fast, reliable delivery of consent banner scripts and assets, powered by cloudflare.</p>
<p><strong>What data is sent:</strong><br />
* HTTP requests for JavaScript files and assets<br />
* Standard web server logs (IP address, user agent, referrer)<br />
* Your website’s domain name (in request headers)</p>
<p><strong>When data is sent:</strong><br />
* Every time a visitor loads a page on your website (to fetch banner scripts)<br />
* During initial plugin setup and configuration</p>
<p><strong>CDN endpoints used:</strong><br />
* <code>https://cdn.cookiefy.app/wp-cookiefy-core.min.js</code> – Core cookie blocking, and GDPR compliance functionality<br />
* <code>https://cdn.cookiefy.app/wp-cookiefy-ui.min.js</code> – Standard banner interface<br />
* <code>https://cdn.cookiefy.app/wp-compact-cookiefy-ui-modern.min.js</code> – Compact banner interface</p>
<p><strong>Legal documentation:</strong><br />
* Same as primary service (Cookiefy terms and privacy policy apply)</p>
<h4>Data Processing Legal Basis</h4>
<ul>
<li><strong>Legitimate Interest:</strong> Cookie classification and service delivery</li>
<li><strong>Contractual Necessity:</strong> Providing the cookie consent management service</li>
<li><strong>User Consent:</strong> Analytics and reporting features (where applicable)</li>
</ul>
<h4>Data Retention and Geographic Processing</h4>
<ul>
<li>Configuration data: Retained for the duration of active service subscription</li>
<li>Analytics data: Retained for up to 24 months for reporting purposes</li>
<li>User consent records: Retained according to legal requirements (typically 3 years)</li>
<li>Processing locations: European Union and United States data centers</li>
</ul>
<h4>Your Control and User Rights</h4>
<ul>
<li>Users can request data deletion through the Cookiefy dashboard</li>
<li>You can disable analytics collection in the plugin settings</li>
<li>The service complies with GDPR, CCPA, and other privacy regulations</li>
<li>You can export your consent data through the Cookiefy dashboard</li>
</ul>
<h4>Alternative Solutions</h4>
<p>If you prefer not to use external services, consider:<br />
* Self-hosted cookie consent solutions<br />
* WordPress-only cookie plugins (with limited functionality)<br />
* Custom development for your specific requirements</p>
<p><strong>By using this plugin, you acknowledge that:</strong><br />
1. Your website will connect to and transmit data to Cookiefy services<br />
2. You have reviewed and accept Cookiefy’s terms of service and privacy policy<br />
3. You understand the data transmission requirements for the service to function<br />
4. You will inform your website visitors about these external connections as required by law</p>
<h3>Support and Documentation</h3>
<ul>
<li><strong>Documentation</strong>: <a href="https://cookiefy.app/en/docs/" rel="nofollow ugc">https://cookiefy.app/en/docs/</a></li>
<li><strong>Support Center</strong>: <a href="https://cookiefy.app/contact" rel="nofollow ugc">https://cookiefy.app/contact</a></li>
<li><strong>Service Website</strong>: <a href="https://cookiefy.app" rel="nofollow ugc">https://cookiefy.app</a></li>
</ul>
<p>This plugin requires a Domain ID from your Cookiefy account. Sign up for a free trial to get started with enterprise-grade cookie compliance.</p>
<h3>Privacy and External Services</h3>
<p>This plugin integrates with the Cookiefy service (cookiefy.app) to provide cookie management functionality. When active, the plugin:</p>
<ul>
<li>Connects to Cookiefy CDN servers to load optimized scripts</li>
<li>Retrieves cookie classification data and banner configurations</li>
<li>May synchronize consent preferences with the service (configurable)</li>
<li>Processes Domain ID for service authentication</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Data Handling:</strong><br />
* No personal data is transmitted without explicit user consent<br />
* Cookie detection and classification occurs through the external service<br />
* Consent data can be stored locally or optionally synchronized<br />
* All data transmission uses secure HTTPS connections</p>
<p><strong>Required External Connections:</strong><br />
* <code>https://cdn.cookiefy.app/</code> – For loading optimized banner and core scripts<br />
* <code>https://cookiefy.app/</code> – For configuration and classification data</p>
<p>The plugin respects user privacy and only processes data necessary for GDPR compliance functionality. Please review Cookiefy’s privacy policy at their website for complete details on data handling practices.</p>
<h3>Technical Requirements</h3>
<ul>
<li>WordPress 5.0 or higher</li>
<li>PHP 7.4 or higher</li>
<li>HTTPS recommended for secure cookie handling</li>
<li>Domain ID from Cookiefy account</li>
<li>JavaScript enabled on visitor browsers</li>
</ul>
<h3>Customisation beyond</h3>
<p>It is possible to have a completely custom banner with the blocking script, for more information on how to achieve this, contact support@cookiefy.app</p>


Cookiefy GDPR Compliance

GDPR-compliant cookie consent management with automatic cookie detection and intelligent classification.

WP Consent API vs Cookiefy GDPR Compliance