The Cookie Scanner & Manager helps merchants discover, categorize, and document cookies used on their Shopify store.

The feature is divided into two parts:

• Cookie Scanner — Automatically scans your storefront and identifies cookies.
• Cookie Manager — Allows you to maintain a documented cookie inventory for compliance and privacy purposes.

Together, these tools help merchants better understand their store's cookie usage while maintaining organized records for privacy policies, audits, and compliance reviews.

⚠️ Before You Begin

To access the Cookie Scanner:

→ Open GDPR EU Cookie Banner

→ Navigate to Cookie Scanner

To access Cookie Management:

→ Open the Cookie Management page from the app

💡 The Scanner and Manager operate independently. Cookies detected by the Scanner are not automatically added to the Cookie Manager inventory.

🔍 Cookie Scanner

The Cookie Scanner automatically scans your storefront homepage and identifies cookies detected through HTTP response headers.

This provides a quick overview of cookies currently active on your store.

📋 What the Scanner Detects

When a scan is performed, the system analyzes:

• Cookie Name
• Provider
• Expiration Date
• Cookie Category

Each cookie is automatically assigned to a category based on its detected purpose.

🏷️ Cookie Categories

The scanner organizes cookies into the following categories.

🔒 Strictly Necessary

Essential cookies required for the storefront to function properly.

Examples may include:

• Session cookies
• Cart cookies
• Authentication cookies
• Security-related cookies

These cookies are generally required for core store functionality.

⚙️ Functional

Cookies that remember visitor preferences and settings.

Examples include:

• Language preferences
• Theme preferences
• Currency preferences
• Location preferences

These cookies help improve the visitor experience.

📊 Analytics

Cookies used to measure performance and visitor behavior.

Examples include:

• Analytics cookies
• Performance tracking cookies
• Visitor activity tracking

These cookies help merchants understand how visitors interact with the storefront.

🎯 Marketing

Cookies used for advertising and remarketing purposes.

Examples include:

• Advertising cookies
• Campaign tracking cookies
• Conversion tracking cookies
• Retargeting cookies

These cookies help support marketing and advertising activities.

❓ Unclassified

Cookies that cannot be automatically categorized.

These cookies may require manual review to determine their purpose.

📄 Cookies Found Table

After a scan is completed, the results table displays:

• Cookie Name
• Provider
• Category
• Expiration
• Description

This provides a quick overview of all detected cookies.

🔄 Re-Scan

The Re-scan button performs a new scan of the storefront homepage.

Use this whenever:

• New apps are installed
• Theme changes are made
• Tracking tools are added
• Cookie behavior changes

This helps keep scan results up to date.

⏰ Scheduled Scans

Scheduled Scans allow the Cookie Scanner to run automatically at predefined intervals.

This helps merchants monitor changes without manually performing scans.

📅 Frequency

Choose how often scans should run automatically.

Every Day

Runs a scan once per day.

Ideal for stores that frequently install apps or update tracking tools.

Every Week

Runs a scan once per week.

Suitable for stores with a more stable setup.

📆 Day of Week

Available when Weekly scanning is selected.

Choose the preferred day:

• Monday
• Tuesday
• Wednesday
• Thursday
• Friday
• Saturday
• Sunday

🕒 Time

Choose the time when the scheduled scan should run.

The scanner will automatically perform a new storefront scan at the selected time.

💾 Save Schedule

After updating schedule settings:

→ Click Save Schedule

The new schedule becomes active immediately after saving.

📚 Cookie Manager

Cookie Manager provides a structured inventory of cookies used by your store.

Unlike the Scanner, which discovers cookies automatically, Cookie Manager is used to maintain documentation and compliance records.

📂 Cookie Categories

Managed cookies are organized into four categories.

🔒 Strictly Required

Cookies required for core storefront functionality.

📊 Analytics

Cookies used for reporting and visitor insights.

🎯 Marketing

Cookies used for advertising and marketing activities.

⚙️ Preferences

Cookies that store visitor settings and preferences.

📋 Default Cookies

When Cookie Manager is opened for the first time, a set of common cookies may be automatically added.

These provide a starting point for building your cookie inventory and can be reviewed as needed.

📊 Dashboard Integration

Cookie Scanner results appear throughout the app to provide better visibility into cookie activity.

🚀 Quickstart Tasks

The Dashboard Quickstart section includes a Cookie Scan task to help merchants complete setup.

📈 Cookie Category Statistics

The Dashboard displays cookie counts grouped by category.

Examples include:

• Strictly Necessary
• Functional
• Analytics
• Marketing

These statistics update after each completed scan.

✅ GDPR Checklist

The GDPR Checklist also displays:

• Total cookies found
• Category breakdown
• Quick access to Cookie Scanner results

This helps merchants monitor compliance progress more easily.

⚠️ Important Notes

Scanner and Manager Are Separate

Cookies found by the Scanner do not automatically appear in Cookie Manager.

If you want a detected cookie included in your documentation inventory, it must be added manually.

Homepage Scan Only

The scanner only analyzes the storefront homepage.

Cookies that appear on:

• Product pages
• Cart pages
• Checkout pages
• Other storefront pages

may not be detected.

JavaScript Cookies May Not Appear

Some cookies created after page load may not be detected by the scanner.

Examples include cookies created by:

• Analytics tools
• Marketing platforms
• Third-party scripts

Manual review is recommended for complete documentation.

Scanning Does Not Update Banner Content

Running a scan does not automatically:

• Update cookie descriptions
• Modify banner text
• Change consent categories

Banner content remains managed separately through the app settings.

🚀 Final Result

Once configured successfully:

✅ Cookies can be discovered automatically through storefront scans

✅ Cookie categories are organized for easier review

✅ Scheduled scans help monitor changes over time

✅ A structured cookie inventory can be maintained

✅ Cookie documentation can be exported when needed

✅ Merchants gain greater visibility into storefront cookie usage

Using the Cookie Scanner & Manager together helps merchants maintain more accurate cookie records while supporting privacy and compliance requirements.

Updated on: 14/07/2026