Cookie Categories & Inventory
Classify actual purposes; an inventory is not enforcement.
Content and code last checked 2026-10-06 by ConsentEase product documentation. This is a review of the written content and code, not a test on a live third-party platform.
Review each cookie and service
Open the selected website's Cookies area. Review detected names, providers, purposes, duration and category. Add missing cookies manually where needed. A scanner can miss delayed, authenticated, regional or post-consent behaviour.
Category meanings
| Category | Typical purpose |
|---|---|
| Necessary | Strictly required for requested functionality, such as an essential session/cart |
| Functional | Optional preferences or enhanced functionality |
| Analytics | Measuring use and performance |
| Marketing | Advertising, attribution or profiling |
These are product categories, not universal legal conclusions. Do not classify all payment-provider cookies as Necessary. Embedded videos/maps can have mixed purposes. Cookie-free tools such as some Plausible/Fathom configurations should not be invented as cookies; assess their actual requests and personal-data processing.
Manage the inventory
Review automated classification, correct unknown entries and map optional tags to the same category meanings. Changes can affect disclosures shown in preferences and generated policies. Refresh and verify the live inventory after changing it.
Important boundary
Moving a cookie into Analytics or Marketing does not automatically rewrite its script or stop its provider. Configure consent checks for each tag and validate before/after choices. An inventory score is not a legal-compliance score.