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Orbo – Cookie Consent & Compliance Banner (GDPR, CCPA, PIPEDA)

Orbo – Cookie Consent & Compliance Banner (GDPR, CCPA, PIPEDA)

Description

Orbo shows a customizable cookie consent banner and stops tracking scripts
from running until your visitor agrees — so your WordPress site can comply
with GDPR, CCPA/CPRA, PIPEDA, and Québec Law 25.

Most cookie banners just sit on top of the page while Google Analytics, Meta
Pixel, and other trackers fire anyway. That isn’t valid consent — the
trackers must be blocked before the visitor agrees. Orbo blocks them in
two layers:

  • Server-side blocking rewrites each page’s finished HTML before it
    leaves your server, so even tracking scripts pasted directly into your
    theme or page builder never reach the browser without consent.
  • Client-side blocking catches trackers injected later by other
    plugins, chat widgets, and tag managers.

Everything you need to get compliant

  • Free automatic cookie scanner — Orbo crawls your site, finds the
    cookies and tracking scripts actually in use, and categorizes them
    against a signature database. No manual cookie spreadsheets.
  • A banner that matches your brand — colors, logo, text, and position
    are managed in the Orbo dashboard and update on your site without
    touching code.
  • Auto-generated cookie policy page — built from your latest scan and
    kept current, embedded anywhere with the [orbo_cookie_policy] shortcode.
  • Consent logs you can show a regulator — every accept/reject is
    recorded with a timestamp and the privacy regime that applied (GDPR,
    CCPA, or PIPEDA), so you can prove consent if you’re ever asked.
  • Visitors can change their mind — reopen the preferences panel
    anywhere with the [orbo_cookie_preferences] shortcode.
  • Opt-in everywhere — Orbo applies the strictest (opt-in) behavior in
    every jurisdiction, so you’re covered wherever your visitors browse from.

Fast, light, and compatible

  • One small async script — no jQuery, no render-blocking payloads.
  • Automatically excluded from JS delay/defer in WP Rocket, LiteSpeed
    Cache, Autoptimize, and Cloudflare Rocket Loader, so consent and
    blocking always run first, even on aggressively optimized sites.
  • Safe with WooCommerce, Elementor, and other page builders — your own
    first-party scripts and WordPress core assets are never blocked.

Who it’s for

Orbo is built for small-business site owners — and the freelancers and
agencies who look after their sites — in Canada, the United States, and
anywhere GDPR-level consent applies. If you run analytics, ads, or a chat
widget and your visitors are in a jurisdiction with a privacy law, you need
consent that actually holds up. Orbo makes that a five-minute job instead
of a legal project.

How it works

  1. Install the plugin and create a free Orbo account.
  2. Orbo scans your site and builds your banner, cookie categories, and
    policy page automatically.
  3. Paste your Site Key into the plugin settings — the banner goes live and
    consent logging starts immediately.

An Orbo account is required. This plugin is a thin connector — all
configuration (banner design, cookie categories, blocking rules) lives in
the Orbo dashboard, and the banner, cookie scanning, and consent-record
functionality is provided by the Orbo service. A free plan is available
and works for small sites; no credit card is required to start.

Orbo helps you run a compliant consent flow, but no software makes
compliance automatic on its own — this plugin is not legal advice. If you
are unsure what your site requires, talk to a privacy professional.

Docs & support

External services

This plugin relies on the Orbo platform (operated by Orbo,
https://getorbo.com) to function. No external requests are made until you
save a Site Key on the settings page (Settings Orbo Cookie Consent) — with no
Site Key configured, the plugin contacts no external servers.

Once a Site Key is saved, the plugin communicates with these Orbo endpoints:

  • cdn.getorbo.com — the consent banner script (consent.js) is loaded in
    visitors’ browsers on every page. Through it, visitors’ consent choices
    are sent to Orbo together with the Site Key so that consent can be
    recorded and proven, as described in the Orbo privacy policy.
  • config.getorbo.com — your server fetches this site’s script-blocking
    rules and banner configuration (the request contains the Site Key),
    cached locally for one hour.
  • dashboard.getorbo.com — a connection heartbeat (weekly, at most once
    daily while you use wp-admin, and when you save the key or click “Test
    Connection”) sends the Site Key and this site’s address so Orbo can
    verify the key belongs to this domain, and the [orbo_cookie_policy] shortcode
    fetches your generated cookie policy (the request contains the Site Key),
    cached locally for one hour.

Orbo terms of service: https://getorbo.com/terms-of-service/
Orbo privacy policy: https://getorbo.com/privacy-policy/
Orbo data processing agreement: https://getorbo.com/data-processing-agreement/

Screenshots

Installation

  1. Upload and activate the plugin.
  2. Create a free account at https://dashboard.getorbo.com/signup and follow the setup wizard for your site.
  3. Copy your site’s Site Key from the dashboard.
  4. Paste it under Settings Orbo Cookie Consent and save — the plugin checks the connection automatically and shows “Connected” when everything works.

FAQ

Do I need a cookie consent banner on my WordPress site?

If your site uses analytics, advertising pixels, embedded video, or chat
widgets and has visitors from the EU/UK (GDPR), California (CCPA/CPRA),
Canada (PIPEDA), or Québec (Law 25), then in most cases yes — those laws
require you to inform visitors about tracking and, in opt-in regimes,
obtain consent before trackers run. A banner that merely announces cookies
while trackers load anyway does not meet the opt-in standard.

Does Orbo actually block cookies before consent, or just show a banner?

It actually blocks. Orbo rewrites your pages server-side so known tracking
scripts are neutralized before the browser ever sees them, and its banner
script blocks trackers that other plugins inject later. Blocked scripts run
only after the visitor consents to their category.

Which privacy laws does Orbo help with?

GDPR (EU/UK), CCPA/CPRA (California), PIPEDA (Canada), and Québec Law 25.
Orbo applies opt-in consent behavior everywhere — the strictest standard —
and records which regime applied to each consent event.

Will the banner slow down my site?

No. The banner is a single small script loaded asynchronously, with no
dependencies. Configuration is cached, and the plugin automatically excludes
itself from JS-delay features in WP Rocket, LiteSpeed Cache, Autoptimize,
and Cloudflare Rocket Loader so nothing breaks on optimized sites.

Does it work with WooCommerce, Elementor, and page builders?

Yes. Blocking rules match known third-party trackers only — your own
domain’s scripts and WordPress core assets are never touched, so themes,
page builders, and store functionality keep working. The server-side pass
even catches tracking snippets pasted into page-builder HTML blocks.

Do I need an Orbo account? Is there a free plan?

Yes, an account is required — the banner design, cookie categories, scan
results, and consent records all live in the Orbo dashboard. There is a
free plan suitable for small sites, and no credit card is needed to start.

How do I show my cookie policy or let visitors change their consent?

Add the [orbo_cookie_policy] shortcode to a page to embed your
auto-generated, always-current cookie policy, and use
[orbo_cookie_preferences] anywhere (for example in your footer) to let
visitors reopen the consent preferences panel.

Can I prove a visitor consented?

Yes. Every consent event is logged with a timestamp, the choices made per
category, the banner version shown, and the privacy regime that applied.
Consent logs are retained per your plan and exportable from the dashboard.

What happens if I deactivate the plugin?

The banner and blocking stop immediately, and your site makes no further
requests to Orbo. Your configuration and consent history remain in your
Orbo account. The settings page also has a Disconnect button that removes
the saved Site Key without deactivating the plugin.

Where can I get help?

Start with the plugin guide at https://getorbo.com/wordpress-plugin/ and
the FAQ at https://getorbo.com/faq/. You can reach us any time via
https://getorbo.com/contact/, or post in this plugin’s support forum here
on WordPress.org.

Reviews

There are no reviews for this plugin.

Contributors & Developers

“Orbo – Cookie Consent & Compliance Banner (GDPR, CCPA, PIPEDA)” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin.

Contributors

Changelog

1.6.0

  • The settings page now has a proper connected view: connection status for
    your domain, your site at a glance (last cookie scan, cookies tracked,
    banner views this month), and quick links to your dashboard.
  • New Disconnect button — removes the saved Site Key and stops the banner,
    blocking, and all requests to Orbo, without deactivating the plugin.
    Your Orbo account and consent records are untouched.
  • The saved Site Key is now masked on the settings page (only the key
    prefix and last characters are shown).
  • Help & support links (plugin guide, FAQ, contact, support forum) on the
    settings page.
  • An occasional, fully dismissible review request — shown only on the
    plugin’s own settings page, and only after Orbo has been protecting the
    site for a while.

1.5.1

  • Updated the Plugin URI to the plugin’s page at getorbo.com/wordpress-plugin.

1.5.0

  • All internal names (classes, constants, options, transients, cron hook,
    settings group) now use the unique “orbo_ccb” prefix, per wordpress.org
    plugin-directory requirements. Stored settings migrate automatically on
    update — your site key and connection status are preserved.
  • Shortcodes renamed: [cookie_policy] is now [orbo_cookie_policy] and
    [manage_cookie_preferences] is now [orbo_cookie_preferences]. If you use
    them on any page, update the tags after upgrading.
  • On WordPress 6.9+, the whole-page blocking pass now uses core’s template
    enhancement output buffer; on older versions the plugin’s own buffer is
    explicitly opened and closed in a matched pair.

1.4.0

  • Server-side blocking now covers the whole page, not just scripts
    registered through WordPress: a final rewrite pass over the finished
    HTML neuters matching tracker tags pasted directly into themes or page
    builders, before the browser ever sees them. (Browsers queue such
    scripts for execution the instant the parser reads them, so client-side
    blocking alone cannot reliably stop them.)
  • Neutered tags now keep their original attributes (defer, id, …) so
    scripts are restored faithfully after consent.

1.3.2

  • Fix: a blocking rule matching the site’s own domain could disable the
    site’s first-party scripts (including WordPress core ones, breaking page
    builders like Elementor). Domain rules now match script hostnames
    exactly (domain or subdomain, never a URL substring), rules for the
    site’s own domain are ignored, and WordPress core assets are never
    blocked under any rule.

1.3.1

  • Compatibility with caching/optimization plugins: the consent script is
    now automatically excluded from JS delay, defer, combine, and localize
    in Cloudflare Rocket Loader, LiteSpeed Cache, WP Rocket, and
    Autoptimize, so the banner and tracker blocking always run immediately.

1.3.0

  • The connection check now verifies your site key belongs to this site’s
    domain and reports a clear mismatch error if not.
  • Connection status refreshes automatically (at most once daily) while you
    use wp-admin, and a notice appears on the Plugins screen if the
    connection breaks.

1.2.1

  • Updated terms of service / privacy policy links; added the data
    processing agreement link. Internal code-comment cleanup.

1.2.0

  • Renamed the admin menu entry to “Orbo Cookie Consent” and added a
    Settings link on the Plugins screen.

1.1.0

  • Redesigned the admin settings page as a guided three-step onboarding
    experience (create account scan & customize in the app paste site key).
    Save/test-connection behavior is unchanged.

1.0.3

  • Heartbeat fires immediately when a site key is saved (setup wizard support).