What it is for
The preference centre is where a visitor can make a granular decision and change it later. In GDPR consent flows it can help implement Article 7(3)’s requirement that withdrawal be as easy as giving consent; other regimes and non-consent controls require their own accessibility analysis.
- One control per optional category, with the description that explains it
- Items that are actually strictly necessary shown and explained as always active, rather than hiding them or using the label to shelter optional storage
- A save action that records the new decision as its own consent record
- Reachable from a persistent entry point, not only from the first banner
Translate the descriptions, not just the buttons
The category descriptions are the informing part of informed consent. A preference centre with translated buttons and English descriptions has translated the wrong half. Translations in StrongPrivacy carry both the copy and the category labels and descriptions for each language.
Common questions
Does the preference centre have to be on every page?
The exact placement rule depends on the regime and interface, but withdrawal should be as easy as giving consent and should not require clearing cookies or hunting through the site. A persistent footer or privacy control available throughout the site is a strong implementation pattern; the legal principle is accessibility and equivalent ease, not a magic requirement for one particular link position.
Should necessary cookies be listed there?
Listing them with a clear purpose can make the disclosure more complete. Mark an item as always active only after confirming that its particular purpose meets the applicable strict-necessity test; a vendor or product label is not enough.
Sources and verification
Verified on . Product-behaviour statements were checked against the current implementation and tests. The links below are the verification basis recorded for this article. They support the stated facts, not a legal conclusion for every site or configuration; recheck changing vendor behaviour before relying on it in production.
- Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR)
Legislation
Checked
- ICO: guidance on storage and access technologies
Regulator guidance
Checked
- StrongPrivacy documentation
Product documentation
Checked
See what your own site is loading
A browser scan reports the requests and storage it observed during the sampled journey. Use configured workspace scans to compare the states and pages that matter to your implementation.