In today’s digital age, it has become increasingly important for organizations to prioritize their users’ privacy and data protection. With the introduction of GDPR and other privacy regulations, businesses must now ensure that they are obtaining proper consent from their users before collecting and processing their personal information.

This is where Consent Management Platforms (CMPs) come into play.

What is Consent Management Platform (CMP)?

A Consent Management Platform is a tool used by organizations to facilitate and manage the collection of user consent for data processing activities. These platforms provide users with clear and transparent information about how their data will be used, and give them the ability to easily understand and control their privacy settings. CMPs also help organizations comply with various data protection regulations by ensuring that users have given explicit and informed consent before their data is collected and processed.

One of the main functions of a CMP is to collect and store user consent preferences in a central location. This allows organizations to easily manage and track user consent across different channels and platforms. CMPs also provide customizable consent pop-ups and banners that can be easily integrated into websites and mobile apps. These pop-ups typically include clear and concise language explaining the purposes of data processing, the types of data being collected, and the duration of data retention.

In addition to collecting and managing user consent, CMPs also help organizations monitor and audit their consent practices. These platforms often include dashboards and reporting tools that provide insights into user consent rates, preferences, and compliance status. This allows organizations to quickly identify and address any potential compliance issues and make necessary adjustments to their data processing activities.

Furthermore, CMPs play a crucial role in building trust and credibility with users. By providing transparent and user-friendly consent processes, organizations can demonstrate their commitment to privacy and data protection. This can lead to increased user trust, loyalty, and engagement, ultimately benefiting the organization’s reputation and bottom line.

Overall, Consent Management Platforms are essential tools for organizations looking to prioritize user privacy and comply with data protection regulations. By implementing a CMP, organizations can ensure that they are obtaining proper consent from their users, building trust and credibility, and ultimately safeguarding their users’ personal information.

How to choose the best CMP for your project?

Choosing the best CMP (Consent Management Platform) for your project requires considering several factors specific to your needs. Here’s a breakdown to help you navigate the selection process:

Understand your needs for your project and the features of CMP

• Website Traffic – high-traffic websites require robust CMPs with features like advanced reporting and analytics.
• Compliance requirements – identify the privacy regulations you need to comply with (e.g., GDPR, CCPA). Choose a CMP that caters to those specific regulations.
• Technical expertise – consider your team’s technical capabilities. Some CMPs offer easier integration with user-friendly interfaces, while others require more technical expertise.

Key features to evaluate for new CMP

• Consent management – look for features like granular consent options, clear and customizable consent banners, and the ability to manage consent across devices. Also when and how the banner will look like, and what possible behavior of the cookie banner you can directly set in admin (consent settings)
• Reporting and analytics – track user consent choices and gain insights into how users interact with your CMP.
• Integrations – ensure the CMP integrates seamlessly with your existing analytics and marketing tools.
• Scalability – choose a CMP that can scale with your website traffic and evolving privacy needs.
• Team collaboration – for bigger companies having many various websites, landing pages, and projects – you also need from CMP an easily manageable admin offering to select user roles, allowing you to simply add new users or delete people who left the company, etc.
• Additional features – additional features can also play a significant role in your CMP selection. Look for options like:
  • Draft options allowing you to restore previously published versions: This is crucial for making edits and revisions to your consent banner or the privacy policy without permanently affecting the live version.
  • Advanced consent logging – detailed logging of user consent choices provides valuable insights into user behavior and helps ensure compliance with regulations requiring demonstrable consent records.
  • Customizable branding – the ability to tailor the CMP’s appearance to match your website’s branding creates a more seamless user experience.
  • Advanced reporting and analytics – beyond basic reporting, some CMPs offer advanced features like user journey tracking and consent trend analysis, providing deeper insights into user interactions with your CMP.
  • Offline consent management – this allows users to manage their consent preferences even when they’re not actively browsing your website.

Other factors to consider for CMP

• Pricing – pricing models for CMPs can vary. Some tools are for a fixed price, some are based on a number of consents collected, while others might have custom quotes. Consider the value proposition – is the cost justified by the features and benefits offered? Some CMPs look cheap at the beginning, but when you try to recalculate the whole price for all features you need including for example thousands or millions of pages, it can be very, very expensive tools sometimes.
• A/B testing – this allows you to test different consent banner designs and messaging to see which ones result in higher consent rates.
• Geo-targeting – enables the CMP to display different consent banners or options based on the user’s location, ensuring compliance with regional privacy regulations.
• Customizable workflows – the ability to configure the CMP’s workflow to fit your specific needs. This might include things like defining what happens when a user consents/doesn’t consent, or how long consent lasts.
• Vendor management – some CMPs offer features to help you manage your relationships with third-party vendors who place cookies on your site. This might include functionalities for creating vendor contracts or managing consent preferences for individual vendors.
• Consent recollection – the ability to easily recollect consent from users at a later date, especially important if your privacy policy or cookie usage changes significantly.
• Advanced consent options – look for CMPs offering features like remembering user consent preferences across visits or allowing for granular consent for specific cookie categories. Of course, the new CMP should support Google Consent Mode V2, some experimental features, etc.
• Data leak prevention – some CMPs integrate with data leak prevention (DLP) solutions to ensure user data collected through cookies is handled securely.

Many CMPs offer free trials or demos. Take advantage of these to test the platform’s user interface, ease of integration, and reporting features.

There’s no “one size fits all” solution. The best CMP for you depends on your specific project requirements and resources. By carefully evaluating your needs and comparing different options, you can find the platform that best supports your consent management goals.

What are the most used and well-known CMPs?

I can personally recommend these tools (all are paid ones, I mean if some of them are free, even for smaller projects you need to use the paid version). But in case you don’t want to create your solution, it is actually quite an easy decision. Most of these costs around 30 – 1 00 euros per month per domain depending on the complexity of your website.

• CookieBot and Usercentrics – these are established CMP providers offering various features for cookie consent management and compliance with regulations like GDPR and CCPA. They likely have quite a good pricing model (around 30-100 USD per month depending on the size of your site/number of website pages).

• CookieFirst – this is another CMP solution aiming for GDPR, ePR, CCPA, and LGPD compliance. They emphasize features like a comprehensive cookie scanner and user-friendly setup. It is a little cheaper than CookieBot, so for some smaller projects, it can be also a very good choice.

• OneTrust – one of the most used and well-known CMPs is OneTrust. Very popular platform known for its wider privacy compliance solutions. OneTrust offers a CMP alongside other privacy tools like data governance and breach response. This makes it a good choice for companies needing a comprehensive privacy program. OneTrust offers a range of pricing options depending on the size and needs of the organization.

• Osano – is known for its scalability and ease of use. Osano boasts a massive user base and processes billions of consents monthly. Their focus on a single-line JavaScript code snippet makes integration simple.

• TrustArc – a privacy industry veteran offering a comprehensive CMP suite. TrustArc goes beyond basic consent management, providing features for data subject requests and vendor management. Their experience gives them a strong understanding of evolving privacy regulations.

• CookieScript – a user-friendly CMP with a focus on simplicity and affordability. CookieScript offers a user-friendly interface and is known for its clear and concise consent banners. This makes it a good option for smaller websites or those prioritizing a straightforward solution.

• Didomi – a European-based CMP known for its strong data privacy focus. Didomi is built with a focus on European regulations like GDPR and offers granular consent options. Their European base allows them to stay updated on the evolving privacy landscape there.

• Complianz – GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent for WordPress is a plugin (in a free and paid version) that complies with many privacy laws and regulations around the world, including GDPR, CCPA, and PECR. It also offers features such as cookie scanning, automatic cookie blocking, and consent recording.