That’s not true, it’s even explicitly called out by the EU guidelines.
Copy pasting an older comment because it’s really coming up all the time…
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49060456
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That's not true and is a very common misinformation people repeat online. You can save user preferences in cookies without any consent banner, if the cookie isn't used for tracking. See here[0], page 6: > As stated in Article 5(3) ePD: ‘This shall not prevent any technical storage or access for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network, or as strictly necessary in order for the provider of an information society service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user to provide the service.’ 0: https://www.edpb.europa.eu/system/files/documents/2024-10/ed... As long as you do not share that info with 3rd party, and the user requested it, you can store via cookies pretty much whatever you want without the need for a consent screen
The guidelines you linked state: "These Guidelines do not address the circumstances under which a processing operation may fall within the exemptions from the consent requirement provided for by the ePD".
Let's check what "Opinion 04/2012 on Cookie Consent Exemption" [0] says under section 3.6:
"""
3.6 UI customization cookies
User interface customization cookies are used to store a user’s preference regarding a service across web pages and not linked to other persistent identifiers such as a username. They are only set if the user has explicitly requested the service to remember a certain piece of information, for example, by clicking on a button or ticking a box.
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These customization functionalities are thus explicitly enabled by the user of an information society service (e.g. by clicking on button or ticking a box) although in the absence of additional information the intention of the user could not be interpreted as a preference to remember that choice for longer than a browser session (or no more than a few additional hours). As such only session (or short term) cookies storing such information are exempted under CRITERION B. The addition of additional information in a prominent location (e.g. “uses cookies” written next to the flag) would constitute sufficient information for valid consent to remember the user’s preference for a longer duration, negating the requirement to apply an exemption in this case.
"""
See that you need to provide provide "information in a prominent location (e.g. “uses cookies” written next to the flag)" to be able to store user preferences in persistent cookies. You don't need consent banner for that (which I didn't say you need), but you need to clearly inform the user. The act of setting a preference together with clear information about persistence counts as a valid consent.
[0] https://ec.europa.eu/justice/article-29/documentation/opinio...