Title: Cookie scan help
Last modified: March 30, 2024

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# Cookie scan help

 *  Resolved [AlexGraphicD](https://wordpress.org/support/users/alexgraphicd/)
 * (@alexgraphicd)
 * [2 years, 1 month ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/cookie-scan-help/)
 * Which tool do you suggest using to automatically scan the cookies on a website?
   I tried multiple online tools and each one showed different results so I’m confused
   which one I should choose.

Viewing 10 replies - 1 through 10 (of 10 total)

 *  [Nikodemsky](https://wordpress.org/support/users/nikodemsky/)
 * (@nikodemsky)
 * [2 years, 1 month ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/cookie-scan-help/#post-17545545)
 * I have used this one last time:
   [https://www.cookieserve.com/](https://www.cookieserve.com/)
 *  Thread Starter [AlexGraphicD](https://wordpress.org/support/users/alexgraphicd/)
 * (@alexgraphicd)
 * [2 years, 1 month ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/cookie-scan-help/#post-17546648)
 * Yes and if you try other tools they will give you different results. Your link
   didn’t find any cookies on the website url I entered, but ‘cookie-script.com’
   found 3.
    -  This reply was modified 2 years, 1 month ago by [AlexGraphicD](https://wordpress.org/support/users/alexgraphicd/).
 *  Plugin Author [pressidium](https://wordpress.org/support/users/pressidium/)
 * (@pressidium)
 * [2 years, 1 month ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/cookie-scan-help/#post-17549104)
 * Hey, [@alexgraphicd](https://wordpress.org/support/users/alexgraphicd/)!
 * We haven’t had the chance to test automated cookie scanning tools, so I’m afraid
   we’re unable to suggest any at the moment.
 * I’ll mark this as resolved, since it’s a bit out the plugin’s current scope. 
   However, you’re welcome to discuss potential cookie scanning tools that may work
   for you.
 * If you come across any other issues, feel free to [create a new topic](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/pressidium-cookie-consent/)
   or [open an issue on GitHub](https://github.com/pressidium/pressidium-cookie-consent/issues).
 *  Thread Starter [AlexGraphicD](https://wordpress.org/support/users/alexgraphicd/)
 * (@alexgraphicd)
 * [2 years, 1 month ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/cookie-scan-help/#post-17553187)
 * that’s a disappointing reply. your plugin can be the best on what it does but
   if it doesn’t help us identify cookies accurately or at least suggest a 3rd party
   tool, then it is pretty much not usable.
 *  [Nikodemsky](https://wordpress.org/support/users/nikodemsky/)
 * (@nikodemsky)
 * [2 years, 1 month ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/cookie-scan-help/#post-17553746)
 * To be honest if you want to be most thorough you can simply use chrome built-
   in tool from DevTools: F12 -> Application > Cookies > Domain; just be sure to
   open it in Incognito mode, so all the cookies will be loaded properly.
   It’s more“
   technical” way of doing it but this way you won’t miss any cookies, that some
   random scanning tool would miss.
 * From what i know Firefox and Safari have those too.
 *  [ianap](https://wordpress.org/support/users/ianap/)
 * (@ianap)
 * [2 years, 1 month ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/cookie-scan-help/#post-17553781)
 * There is no way to “scan” the cookies your application might set to clients. 
   Imagine a situation where your application sets 2 cookies for visitors from US
   while the scanning tool runs from Europe, or a cookie that is set when an order
   is made. You need to either *know* the full codebase and what might be set based
   on different criteria, or write code to record all your responses with `set-cookie`
   involved to identify the cookies you might set.
 * No external “cookie scanning” tool can ever be 100% correct.
 *  Thread Starter [AlexGraphicD](https://wordpress.org/support/users/alexgraphicd/)
 * (@alexgraphicd)
 * [2 years, 1 month ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/cookie-scan-help/#post-17556959)
 * “There is no way to “scan” the cookies your application might set to clients.“
   
   Complianz does this. So, say I detect the cookies manually, how the heck do I
   know which way to categorize them in Pressidium settings? Necessary, Analytics,
   Preferences etc.
 *  Thread Starter [AlexGraphicD](https://wordpress.org/support/users/alexgraphicd/)
 * (@alexgraphicd)
 * [2 years, 1 month ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/cookie-scan-help/#post-17556964)
 * By the way is there a proper documentation for this plugin? What is the ‘Regex’
   toggle option in settings? One of the most hard plugins to setup.
 *  [Nikodemsky](https://wordpress.org/support/users/nikodemsky/)
 * (@nikodemsky)
 * [2 years, 1 month ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/cookie-scan-help/#post-17558106)
 * > Complianz does this. So, say I detect the cookies manually, how the heck do
   > I know which way to categorize them in Pressidium settings? Necessary, Analytics,
   > Preferences etc.
 * As many others, but most of them needs to connect to external tool and still 
   messes up the scanning, identify them properly or even have proper translations–
   i.e. there’s no 100% perfect scanning tool, it’s just not how it works.
   In my
   humble opinion you have two options:1. Switch to other plugin, like Complianz
   or CookieYes – the latter have 25k max views for free(the most among plugins 
   that offer cookie management for free with scanning tools, and everything “almost”
   automated), with that you will have less headaches, i mean it.2. Open browser
   devtools just like i mentioned and confront list of available cookies with scanners
   you have tried, then categorize them and translate if needed – the one i have
   provided gives categories and translations afaik.
 * > By the way is there a proper documentation for this plugin?
 * [https://github.com/pressidium/pressidium-cookie-consent/wiki/Configuration](https://github.com/pressidium/pressidium-cookie-consent/wiki/Configuration)
 * > What is the ‘Regex’ toggle option in settings?
 * Regular expression. It’s for patterns in url’s. Check the “blocked script” section
   in wiki for more info.
 * > One of the most hard plugins to setup.
 * From my understanding Pressidium is more like platform for people, who prefer
   to manage those things manually – it’s not for everyone and have it’s own problems,
   but it’s 100% free and works as cookie management system.
 * Hope it helps.
 *  Plugin Author [pressidium](https://wordpress.org/support/users/pressidium/)
 * (@pressidium)
 * [2 years, 1 month ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/cookie-scan-help/#post-17562284)
 * Hey, [@alexgraphicd](https://wordpress.org/support/users/alexgraphicd/)!
 * > There is no way to “scan” the cookies your application might set to clients[…]
   > You need to either _know_ the full codebase […]
   > No external “cookie scanning” tool can ever be 100% correct.
 * > still messes up the scanning, identify them properly or even have proper translations–
   > i.e. there’s no 100% perfect scanning tool, it’s just not how it works.
 * As both [@ianap](https://wordpress.org/support/users/ianap/) and [@nikodemsky](https://wordpress.org/support/users/nikodemsky/)
   correctly pointed out, no external tool can ever be 100% accurate. Though, there
   are tools available that can identify the majority of, if not all, cookies for
   some websites — their effectiveness may vary depending on the specific website
   in question.
 * > it doesn’t help us identify cookies accurately
 * We recognize the potential benefits of a cookie scanning mechanism and we’ll 
   explore implementing our own in a future iteration. For now, you could use your
   browser’s DevTools to manually list cookies.
 * > or at least suggest a 3rd party tool
 * Given our limited exposure to third-party automated cookie scanning tools, we’re
   unable to provide a specific recommendation.
 * > how the heck do I know which way to categorize them in Pressidium settings?
   > Necessary, Analytics, Preferences etc.
 * For cookies set by the developer of the website through their code, they’re likely
   familiar with their intended purpose and the appropriate category they belong
   to.
 * For cookies set by third-party plugins and/or services, you could consult their
   documentation (e.g. [WooCommerce maintains a dedicated page on its docs about its cookies](https://woo.com/document/woocommerce-cookies/)),
   or search online for the cookie name to gather relevant information.
 * There are many cookie collections online that cover the most commonly used services
   like Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, etc., which can assist in identifying 
   the cookies they set.
 * > By the way is there a proper documentation for this plugin?
 * Sure! Take a look at the wiki at [https://github.com/pressidium/pressidium-cookie-consent/wiki](https://github.com/pressidium/pressidium-cookie-consent/wiki).
 * > What is the ‘Regex’ toggle option in settings?
 * Check out the “Cookies” and “Blocked Scripts” sections, under the “Configuration”
   page of the wiki:
    - [Cookies](https://github.com/pressidium/pressidium-cookie-consent/wiki/Configuration#cookies)
    - [Blocked Scripts](https://github.com/pressidium/pressidium-cookie-consent/wiki/Configuration#blocked-scripts)
 * From the plugin’s documentation:
 * > Note that the cookie **names** can be either exact matches or regular expressions(
   > if you select the “Is Regex?” toggle).
 * > You could also use a **regular expression**. For example, to block any script
   > on the `*.google-analytics.com` domain, you could use:
   >     ```wp-block-code
   >     ^(?:https?:)?\/\/(?:www\.)?google-analytics\.com
   >     ```
   > 
 * Regular expressions are strings of characters used to define a match pattern.
   Writing a pattern allows you to match multiple cookies and/or script URLs, which
   can be quite helpful. However, they do require a certain level of technical expertise,
   and if you’re not comfortable with them, you don’t _have to_ use them.
 * Note that [regex101](https://regex101.com/) is a great resource to test and understand
   your regular expressions.
 * I hope that answered your questions. If there’s anything else you’d like to know,
   feel free to [create a new topic](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/pressidium-cookie-consent/)
   or [open an issue on GitHub](https://github.com/pressidium/pressidium-cookie-consent/issues).

Viewing 10 replies - 1 through 10 (of 10 total)

The topic ‘Cookie scan help’ is closed to new replies.

 * ![](https://ps.w.org/pressidium-cookie-consent/assets/icon-256x256.png?rev=2928033)
 * [Pressidium Cookie Consent](https://wordpress.org/plugins/pressidium-cookie-consent/)
 * [Frequently Asked Questions](https://wordpress.org/plugins/pressidium-cookie-consent/#faq)
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 * [Unresolved Topics](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/pressidium-cookie-consent/unresolved/)
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 * 10 replies
 * 4 participants
 * Last reply from: [pressidium](https://wordpress.org/support/users/pressidium/)
 * Last activity: [2 years, 1 month ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/cookie-scan-help/#post-17562284)
 * Status: resolved