Cookieless isn’t consentless: tracking links under UK rules
Fingerprinting needs consent in the UK just as cookies do. How Adminify Signal measures links without breaking PECR, and what we do on our own site.
Adminify UK software for small businesses The short answer
- PECR covers any way of storing or reading information on a device, not only cookies.
- Signal stores and reads nothing until your cookie banner says yes.
- Without consent, a Signal link still counts the click and carries a one time reference.
The rule is about devices, not cookies
The UK’s PECR rules, as the ICO reads them, cover storing or reading any information on a visitor’s device unless it is strictly necessary. Analytics and attribution generally aren’t, so they need consent, cookie or no cookie.
What Signal does
Signal waits for your cookie banner. Until a visitor says yes to statistics, it stores and reads nothing. A Signal link still counts the click and passes a one time reference in the address, so a visitor who later agrees can still be credited to the right link.
What we do here
This site uses Signal itself, in the same consent mode, with our own banner. Say no and nothing is stored.