--- title: "Basics guides" description: "Introductory guides explaining core concepts" url: "https://cookiebeam.com/guides/category/basics" lang: "en" --- # Basics Introductory guides explaining core concepts - [Cookie Consent Glossary: 30 Privacy Terms Explained in Plain English](https://cookiebeam.com/guides/cookie-consent-glossary-privacy-terms-2026.md): Every privacy term you'll encounter when setting up cookie consent, explained without the legal jargon. From CMP to TCF, from DSAR to GPC. - [Cookie Consent FAQ: 25 Questions Website Owners Actually Ask](https://cookiebeam.com/guides/cookie-consent-faq-complete-2026.md): Clear, straight answers to the most common cookie consent questions. No legal jargon, no hedging. From 'do I even need a cookie banner?' to 'what happens if I get fined?' - [The Consent Mode v2 Parameters: A Plain-English Reference](https://cookiebeam.com/guides/consent-mode-v2-parameters-reference-2026.md): All seven Google Consent Mode signals explained: what each controls, which are storage permissions versus data-use instructions, and which Google product depends on which parameter. - [What Is a Cookie Banner and How Does It Work?](https://cookiebeam.com/guides/what-is-a-cookie-banner-how-it-works.md): A cookie banner isn't just a notice you click away. Under the hood it decides which scripts are allowed to run. Here's the anatomy of a banner and the sequence it goes through on every page load. - [What Happens When You Reject Cookies?](https://cookiebeam.com/guides/what-happens-when-you-reject-cookies.md): Clicking reject shouldn't break the site. Here's what actually changes when you decline cookies, what a website is still allowed to do, and what it's legally not allowed to do. - [What Are Tracking Cookies and How Do They Work?](https://cookiebeam.com/guides/tracking-cookies-how-they-work.md): Tracking cookies recognise you across pages and sites using a unique ID that maps to a profile on someone else's server. Here's what they actually do, how the mechanism works, and why they need consent. - [Session vs Persistent Cookies: What's the Difference?](https://cookiebeam.com/guides/session-vs-persistent-cookies.md): Session cookies vanish when you close the browser; persistent cookies stick around until they expire. One attribute decides which is which, and it has real consequences for privacy and compliance. - [Secure and HttpOnly Cookie Flags Explained](https://cookiebeam.com/guides/secure-httponly-cookie-flags-explained-2026.md): Two cookie flags do a lot of quiet security work: Secure keeps a cookie off unencrypted connections, HttpOnly hides it from JavaScript. Here's what each protects against and where the __Host- prefix fits. - [The SameSite Cookie Attribute: Lax, Strict, None](https://cookiebeam.com/guides/samesite-cookie-attribute-explained-2026.md): SameSite decides whether a cookie rides along on cross-site requests. Here's what Strict, Lax, and None each do, why the default flipped to Lax in 2020, and how it affects third-party scripts. - [How Cookies Work: The Set-Cookie Header](https://cookiebeam.com/guides/how-cookies-work-set-cookie-header-2026.md): A cookie is a name-value pair a server hands the browser in one HTTP header, and the browser hands back on every matching request. Here's the full round trip and every attribute that shapes it. - [What Is Consent? GDPR Legal Bases Explained Simply](https://cookiebeam.com/guides/gdpr-legal-bases-consent-explained.md): The GDPR gives you six legal reasons to process personal data. Cookies almost always rely on one of them: consent. Here's what the six bases are and what makes consent actually valid. - [Cookies vs Pixels vs Local Storage: What's the Difference?](https://cookiebeam.com/guides/cookies-vs-pixels-vs-local-storage.md): Cookies, tracking pixels, and local storage are three different browser technologies that get lumped together. Here's how each one actually stores and moves data, and why consent law covers all three. - [Cookie Syncing Explained (Cookie Matching)](https://cookiebeam.com/guides/cookie-syncing-matching-explained-2026.md): Ad platforms can't read each other's cookies, so they run a hidden handshake to agree you're the same person. Here's how cookie syncing works, and why third-party cookie limits are ending it. - [Cookie Domain and Path Attributes: How Scope Controls Reach](https://cookiebeam.com/guides/cookie-domain-path-scope-explained-2026.md): Two attributes decide which requests carry a cookie: Domain controls which hosts, Path controls which URLs. Get them wrong and you either leak a cookie or lose it. Here's how scoping works. - [Browser-Level Blocking vs Consent Management](https://cookiebeam.com/guides/browser-blocking-vs-consent-management-2026.md): Browsers block trackers to protect their own users. A consent manager makes your data collection lawful and documented. They do different jobs, and one can't stand in for the other. - [First-Party vs Third-Party Cookies in 2026: Life After the Privacy Sandbox](https://cookiebeam.com/guides/first-party-vs-third-party-cookies.md): What the difference between first-party and third-party cookies actually means in 2026, after Google cancelled third-party cookie deprecation and wound down the Privacy Sandbox. Why first-party data still wins. - [What Is TCF (Transparency & Consent Framework)?](https://cookiebeam.com/guides/what-is-tcf.md): Learn what the IAB Transparency & Consent Framework is, which versions exist, who needs it, and how it relates to GDPR and Google Consent Mode v2. - [Is Consent Mode v2 Mandatory?](https://cookiebeam.com/guides/is-consent-mode-v2-mandatory.md): Learn where Consent Mode v2 is required. Google requires consent signals in the EEA/UK for Ads/Analytics. Some products require a Google-certified CMP. - [What Is Google Consent Mode v2?](https://cookiebeam.com/guides/what-is-consent-mode-v2.md): Consent Mode v2 lets your site respect user consent while maintaining measurement. Learn the new signals (ad_user_data, ad_personalization) and how CookieBeam integrates via GTM. - [GDPR Requirements for Websites](https://cookiebeam.com/guides/gdpr-requirements-for-websites.md): A practical overview of GDPR requirements for websites: lawful basis, consent, transparency, user rights, DPAs, security, and breach notification. - [What Is GDPR?](https://cookiebeam.com/guides/what-is-gdpr.md): Understand the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR): scope, principles, and what it means for websites that use cookies and trackers. - [What Is a CMP (Consent Management Platform)?](https://cookiebeam.com/guides/what-is-a-cmp.md): Learn what a Consent Management Platform does and how it helps you collect valid consent, control tags, and keep audit trails for compliance.