Below you will find lists of countries that require cookie notices. The lists are used in the WP Full Picture’s cookie notice when you enable geolocation and choose one of the automatic compliance modes (strict or lax).
Since there are 195 countries in the world, the list may not be complete. If you see that there is an error, please let me know.
For websites that use customer’s data for marketing purposes or collect sensitive information
These lists are used in the cookie notice when you choose strict automatic compliance.
Countries where visitors have to agree to tracking (opt-in)
EU Countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.
Other countries: Norway, Canada, The UK, South Korea, Mexico, South Africa, Nigeria, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Japan, Switzerland, Turkey, India, Singapore, Cyprus, Guadeloupe, Iceland, Hong Kong, Liechtenstein, French Guiana, Martinique, Mayotte, Morocco, Réunion, Saint Martin (French part), China, Colombia, Canary Islands, Taiwan, Russia.
Countries where visitors can be tracked from the moment they enter the page, but must have an option to decline tracking (opt-out)
USA (California), Kazakhstan
Countries where visitors can be tracked from the moment they enter the page, but have to be notified about tracking.
Due to the ever-changing laws in all countries, I strongly recommend informing users from all other countries (not mentioned above) about tracking.
For websites that do not use customer’s data for marketing purposes nor collect sensitive information
These lists are used in the cookie notice when you choose lax automatic compliance.
Countries where visitors have to agree to tracking (opt-in)
EU Countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.
Other countries: Norway, the UK, South Korea, Nigeria, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Turkey, Cyprus, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique, Mayotte, Morocco, Réunion, Saint Martin (French part), China, Colombia, Canary Islands, Taiwan, Russia.
Countries where visitors can be tracked from the moment they enter the page, but have to be notified about tracking.
Canada, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Singapore, India, Japan, Mexico
Countries where visitors can be tracked from the moment they enter the page, but have to be notified about tracking.
The Philippines, Kazakhstan
Countries where visitors do not need to be informed about tracking
All the rest.
Sources and explanations
The information below is based on the data from:
- TermsFeed
- Legalit Group
- Securiti
- and information found online (linked below)
Information provided in some of the sources I used were contradictory. I have listed below the most important and serious contradictions.
- New Zealand – according to this article cookie notice is not required in New Zealand. However, it was mentioned as the country with the most strict laws (“opt-in required”) in the document by Securiti (link above). After further research, I decided that the information provided in the first source was accurate.
- the Philippines – according to this article, it is sufficient to notify visitors from the Philippines about the use of cookies. However, in the document by Securiti (link above) it was marked as “Opt-in required”. After some research, I found information provided in the first source as accurate.