Cookies still load after clicking "reject all"? Here's why
If you click reject and then check your browser and the analytics and marketing cookies are there anyway, your banner is cosmetic. It collects a choice but does not enforce it, which is both a data problem and a real compliance risk.
Why it happens
The banner and the tags are not actually wired together. The tags, GA4, the pixel and the rest, are hardcoded or set to fire on page load regardless of the banner. The banner shows, records "reject", and then does nothing to stop the tags, which fire anyway. It is the mirror image of a banner that kills all your analytics: here it blocks nothing.
How to confirm it
- Reject on the banner, then open dev tools, Application, Cookies and look for analytics or marketing cookies still present.
- Check the Network tab for tag requests (to Google, Meta, etc.) firing after a reject.
How to actually block them
The tags must be gated by the consent choice, not fire independently. The clean way is to run everything through Google Tag Manager with Consent Mode so that on a reject, tags either do not fire or drop to a cookieless mode. A banner whose reject button does nothing can also make the banner itself non-compliant, so this is worth fixing promptly.
Want us to check your tracking in 10 seconds?
Pop in your domain and we will show you what is firing, what is not, and where data is leaking. Free, no signup.
Check my tracking freeGet a plain-English audit
We check your live GA4, Google Tag Manager and consent setup by hand and tell you exactly what is wrong. The audit comes off any build.
See how it works & pricingDatahound are analytics and ad-tracking specialists. We fix broken GA4, Google Tag Manager and server-side tracking so every sale, form and call gets counted. Back to datahound.agency · All tracking guides · Why your reject button might be illegal