Check your cookie banner:
three steps in the browser

Whether your banner really holds things back you can see in any browser. You need a private window and the developer tools, nothing else.

Free and without sign-up no credit card usually under two minutes See an example report

Three moments that count

Most banners display correctly. Whether they also hold back only shows in the network list, and often only at the second or third moment.

WhatEU reference
Before the first click
Whatever loads while the banner is still open loads without consent.		Art. 5(3) Directive 2002/58/EC
After “Reject”
The choice is saved, hard-coded services load anyway. Only a second look after the click shows it.		Art. 5(3) Directive 2002/58/EC
On product page and checkout
Cart and purchase pixels often sit only on these pages. The home page does not show them.		Art. 5(3) Directive 2002/58/EC

Step by step

  1. Private window and developer tools

    Open a private window without extensions such as ad blockers. Open the developer tools (F12, on a Mac Option+Cmd+I), Network tab, tick “Disable cache”.

  2. Before the click

    Load your shop address and do not touch the banner. Every third-party address in the list, such as google-analytics.com, facebook.net, doubleclick.net or fonts.googleapis.com, loads before consent.

  3. After “Reject”

    Clear the list (the clear icon), click “Reject” in the banner, then open a product page and add an item to the cart. Every third-party address that appears now loads despite the rejection.

  4. Then: the source

    Click a suspicious row, Initiator tab. It shows the file that triggered the call, such as a folder under wp-content/plugins/ or gtm.js. That is where you start in your banner tool.

Questions

Why a private window?

In a normal window your own choice is saved. The banner then does not appear, and you see what loads after your consent, not what a new visitor gets.

Is every third-party address a problem?

No. Payment providers in the checkout or the banner tool itself load in almost every shop. What matters is analytics, advertising, embedded videos and maps: they belong behind consent.

Why do I see nothing when the scan does?

Some services load only after a few seconds or only on certain pages, and ad blockers suppress them. Check without extensions and wait a few seconds.

What a scan shows

It takes the same steps on the home page, a product page and the checkout, with a fresh browser, before the click and after “Reject”, and names the source of every service. With a plan it runs every week by itself, with an email when something is added. More: Cookies before consent. Right away for your shop: Cookie check.

Check your website for free

As of 11 October 2026. We name the reference so you can read it yourself; this is not legal advice.

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