zak-mandhro

TL;DR: Cookie consent shouldn’t be a popup war on every website. Browsers should handle it natively — just like location or notifications — based on user-set privacy preferences. We can fix the web with one header, a little browser enforcement, and a lot less nonsense.

The current system for cookie consent is a mess. Every website throws a popup in your face, asking you to accept tracking you neither want nor need. The irony? It’s not technically necessary. We can solve it at the browser level — cleanly, universally, and in a user-respecting way.

Here’s how:

1. Browser-Level Privacy Preferences Browsers should allow users to set global consent preferences, just like setting a default language or search engine.

Example:

* Essential cookies: Always allow

* Analytics cookies: Ask or Block

* Marketing cookies: Ask or Block

* Third-party cookies: Ask or Block

Set once. Apply everywhere. No more popups.

2. New HTTP Header: Set-Cookie-Category Websites would categorize cookies when setting them, like:

Set-Cookie: sessionId=abc123; Category=Essential Set-Cookie: trackUser=true; Category=Marketing

Standardized categories: Essential, Analytics, Marketing, Personalization, Other. No trickery. No ambiguity.

3. Browser Enforcement When a site tries to set a cookie:

* Browser checks the declared category.

* Browser checks the user's privacy preferences.

* If no consent: cookie is silently blocked.

If consent is "Ask," the browser shows a small permission prompt (similar to location or notifications). No more hijacking the page UI.

1. Optional Website Messaging Websites could optionally trigger a browser-native dialog to explain their cookie use — but no walls of legalese blocking access.

2. Bonus: Easier Compliance Audits Browsers could expose APIs for compliance tools to automatically verify if a site respects consent preferences.

Why hasn’t this happened yet?

* Ad-tech companies make too much money off friction and dark patterns.

* Browser vendors (especially Chrome) profit from the status quo.

* Regulators targeted websites, not browsers, in GDPR/CCPA drafts.

But it’s not too late. Safari, Firefox, Brave, Arc — even Chrome (if enough pressure builds) — could easily implement this.

Users deserve better. The web deserves better.

If you think this should be built, upvotes help visibility.

I recently started using Phosphor Icons and I’m impressed with how flexible and beautiful they are across different weights and screen sizes. Curious what other folks are using these days, especially in production apps.