To all the cookie windows I encountered all these years 🍪

Weiwei 04/17/2022

I don’t quite remember since when every website I open will prompt me with a window asking me to accept the cookies on its website. For some websites, it was just an attention-attracting modal window with the very obvious “Accept All” CTA that seduces me to click on it. With the eagerness to see what I wanted to see and get rid of the modal window, I always clicked “Accept All” without much thinking. By the end of the day, I wanted to view the website, what would it hurt to click on a button to dismiss a cookie modal?

A modal that grabs my whole attention and let me find something to dismiss it

Until one day, I discovered a new form of cookie settings. They sit at the top or bottom of the website, not asking for my full attention, just quietly showing me to “Accept All”. Next to the CTA, there is another button by clicking which I could check the cookie details and have some control over which information to share. It is better in a few different ways. It's less destructive. If I am bothered looking at it, I could still read the website without touching it at all. It's just a bit less information I could see without scrolling. Moreover, it gives me some control back as if I'm nerdy enough, I could click on cookie setting details to check what exactly the website is asking me to accept. Although I bet very few people will click on the "Details" button because most people visit a website with a goal in their mind, they don't want to get too distracted.

A bottom bar that leads me to click on “OK”

The other day, I saw a new pattern of a cookie setting window with two friendly buttons: the primary “Only accept necessary” button and the secondary “Accept all” button. Okay, it seems that I have defaulted to a choice that's good for me. “Only accept necessary” sounds like it's safer and it won’t use my data randomly. Let me select it. But, without further investigation, do I know which part of my data is “Necessary” for the website to track for what purpose? Anyway, the website shows me that option gained some trust from me as I perceived that they are thinking from my perspective.

A bottom bar that leads me to click the button that’s actually good for me

The best version of cookie settings has transparency, gives user control, and gains trust by giving the best default to the users. They are able to do so by showing you the cookie setting in a small dismissible window. It groups the different types of data they need into understandable categories. And only enabled the necessary ones. What’s even better, it gives you control over those non-mandatory data. Therefore, if you want, you can learn what are those data, how they will be used, and confidently turn them on and off easily. At the minimum, I could just get informed, accept its great default, click the primary button with confidence that the website won’t use my data for commercial or business purposes, and go on to accomplish my original goal.

A bottom bar that shows me cookie options with the default that’s best for me selected.

Like a best friend or your significant other, who is mindful of what you want to do, always choose the best default for you, and let you know what is available out there. If they need something, they will ask for it, explain the outcome, and respect me for my own choice of whether to help them or not. In the end, they remind me of what I want to do in the first place.

Hope you enjoyed this article about UX in cookie window. If you have any thoughts on this, feel free to message me.

Till next time!