Do you need a cookie banner for analytics?
In the UK and EU, analytics that stores cookies or similar identifiers on a visitor's device usually needs their consent first, which is why sites using Google Analytics show a banner. Analytics that stores nothing on the device and keeps no personal data generally has nothing to ask permission for. This is a plain-English summary, not legal advice.
Why Google Analytics needs consent
The rule that triggers cookie banners isn't mainly GDPR itself. It's the ePrivacy rules (in the UK, PECR): storing or reading anything on someone's device needs their consent, unless it's strictly necessary for something they asked for. Analytics cookies aren't strictly necessary, so they need a yes first. Google Analytics sets cookies to recognise returning visitors, so it falls under this.
The hidden cost of the banner
Many visitors decline or ignore it. Analytics that waits for consent never sees them, so your numbers quietly undercount, and the banner itself puts friction in front of every first visit.
How cookie-free analytics avoids it
- Nothing stored on the device: no cookies, no local storage, no fingerprinting.
- No personal data kept: for example, Seebly turns the visitor's IP address and browser into a one-way code with a secret that changes every day, and never stores the IP itself. The same person on two days counts as two visitors, by design.
- Totals, not people: the dashboard shows how many visited and from where, never who.
Can you remove your banner?
Only if analytics was the only reason for it. Check everything else on your site first: advertising and social pixels, embedded videos, maps, chat widgets and some fonts can set cookies or send personal data of their own. If any of them do, you still need consent for those. Rules differ by country and are changing, so check your regulator's guidance (in the UK, the ICO) if you're unsure.
Your privacy policy still matters
Even without a banner, say in your privacy policy which analytics tool you use and what it collects. Seebly's data policy sets out exactly what is and isn't collected, and you can link to it.
Last updated 1 November 2026. More guides: Google Analytics alternatives · What is a good bounce rate? · Google Search Console in your analytics · Moving off Google Analytics · All guides