ePrivacy & PECR

The EU ePrivacy Directive (the "cookie law") and its UK implementation, the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR), govern storing or accessing information on a visitor's device. The common misconception is that this is only about cookies. It is not — it covers any storage on the device, including localStorage.

Where Accelerate fits#

Accelerate does not use cookies. It stores a pseudonymous UUID in the browser's localStorage to recognize returning visitors (see Data Privacy → Visitor identifier). Because that is storage on the visitor's device, it falls within scope of ePrivacy/PECR even though no cookie is involved.

Under both regimes, storage that is not strictly necessary to deliver a service the visitor asked for requires consent. Analytics is not considered strictly necessary, so for visitors in the EU/EEA and the UK you should obtain consent before Accelerate begins collecting data.

Accelerate integrates the WP Consent API, the WordPress standard for communicating consent between plugins. With a compatible consent banner installed, Accelerate waits for the visitor to grant the statistics-anonymous (or statistics) category before storing the identifier or collecting events. Without a consent plugin, Accelerate begins tracking on page load — so install one if you serve EU or UK visitors. The full mechanism, including the two consent categories, is documented in GDPR & consent.

What this means in practice#

  • No cookie banner clutter from Accelerate's side — there is no Accelerate cookie to disclose, but the localStorage identifier still belongs in your consent flow.
  • One signal governs everything — because Accelerate speaks the WP Consent API, the same consent decision that governs your other plugins governs Accelerate too.
  • Anonymous option — the statistics-anonymous category lets you collect anonymous analytics without logged-in user data, a lighter footprint where that is the appropriate basis.

This page is general guidance, not legal advice. You are the data controller for your site and decide the lawful basis and consent approach appropriate to your audience.