Standard Cookie Policy

Aug 5, 2025 | POPI ACT

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⏱ Estimated Reading Time: 7 minutes

Standard Cookie Policy for your Website

Standard Cookie Policy setup helps small business owners build trust.
Follow this simple guide to create your own cookie policy.

Index

What is a Cookie Policy
Why do I need a Cookie Policy
Download Cookie Policy
Frequently Asked Questions
Pro Tips
Useful Links

What is a Cookie Policy

A Cookie Policy is a document or section of your website that informs visitors about the cookies your website uses, how they’re used, and how users can control them. Cookies are small data files that track user behavior, preferences, or session activity.

In short, it’s your way of being upfront about tracking tools on your website—whether for analytics, advertising, or user experience.

Why do I need a Cookie Policy

Even if your business is small, visitors care about how their data is used. A cookie policy:

  • Builds trust and transparency
  • Improves your website’s credibility
  • Helps meet privacy expectations
  • Prevents surprises or complaints from users
  • May be required by certain ad networks, tools, or regions

If you’re using Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, or other tracking tools, a cookie policy is a must—even in South Africa.

Cookie Policy Template Download

Need a quick start? Create a page called Cookie Policy on your website and paste the content below.
Copy Free Cookie Policy Template below – just update it with your site details and you’re good to go.


This is a standard Cookie Policy, you should use it only as a guideline and make necessary changes so it fits your website description and cookie collection settings.

This Cookie Policy explains what cookies are and how we use them, the types of cookies we use i.e, the information we collect using cookies and how that information is used, and how to control the cookie preferences. For further information on how we use, store, and keep your personal data secure, see our Privacy Policy. You can at any time change or withdraw your consent from the Cookie Declaration on our website Learn more about who we are, how you can contact us, and how we process personal data in our Privacy Policy. Your consent applies to the following domain: yourdomain.co.za

1. What are cookies?

Cookies are small text files that are used to store small pieces of information. They are stored on your device when the website is loaded on your browser. These cookies help us make the website function properly, make it more secure, provide better user experience, and understand how the website performs and to analyse what works and where it needs improvement.

2. How do we use cookies?

As most of the online services, our website uses first party and third-party cookies for several purposes. First-party cookies are mostly necessary for the website to function the right way, and they do not collect any of your personally identifiable data. The third-party cookies used on our website are mainly for understanding how the website performs, how you interact with our website, keeping our services secure, providing advertisements that are relevant to you, and all in all providing you with a better and improved user experience and help speed up your future interactions with our website.

3. What types of cookies do we use?

Essential:

Some cookies are essential for you to be able to experience the full functionality of our site. They allow us to maintain user sessions and prevent any security threats. They do not collect or store any personal information. For example, these cookies allow you to log-in to your account and add products to your basket, and checkout securely.

Statistics:

These cookies store information like the number of visitors to the website, the number of unique visitors, which pages of the website have been visited, the source of the visit, etc. These data help us understand and analyse how well the website performs and where it needs improvement.

Marketing:

Our website displays advertisements. These cookies are used to personalize the advertisements that we show to you so that they are meaningful to you. These cookies also help us keep track of the efficiency of these ad campaigns. The information stored in these cookies may also be used by the third-party ad providers to show you ads on other websites on the browser as well.

Functional:

These are the cookies that help certain non-essential functionalities on our website. These functionalities include embedding content like videos or sharing content of the website on social media platforms.

Preferences:

These cookies help us store your settings and browsing preferences like language preferences so that you have a better and efficient experience on future visits to the website.

4. How can I control the cookie preferences?

Should you decide to change your preferences later through your browsing session, you can click on the "Privacy & Cookie Policy" tab on your screen. This will display the consent notice again enabling you to change your preferences or withdraw your consent entirely. In addition to this, different browsers provide different methods to block and delete cookies used by websites. You can change the settings of your browser to block/delete the cookies. To find out more about how to manage and delete cookies, visit wikipedia.org, www.allaboutcookies.org. (Last edited : The date you publish this document)

Frequently Asked Questions

Where should I place my Cookie policy?+
In the footer of your website with a visible link and optionally as a banner notification when users first visit.
Are cookies the same as tracking?+
Not always. Some cookies just remember settings, but many are used for tracking user behavior across sessions or platforms.
Can I write the policy myself?+
Yes, using a free template like below or plugin. Just make sure you list the cookies you use and explain their purpose.
What happens if I don’t have one?+
Users may lose trust, and some tools (like Google AdSense or Facebook Ads) may limit your account’s reach or performance.
Do I need consent for Cookies?+
For essential cookies, no. For non-essential cookies (like advertising), consent banners are recommended.

Have Questions of your own? Contact us

💡 Pro Tips

Appoint an Information Officer
Draft and Publish Privacy Policy
Draft and Publish Cookie Policy
Draft and Publish Terms & Conditions
Have a Cookie consent popup module