Those cookie popups are only there because websites are collecting non-essential information from visitors. If you only use essential cookies that perform funct

Those cookie popups are only there because websites are collecting non-essential information from visitors. If you only use essential cookies that perform functions like remembering the contents of a shopping cart, or providing security when you log in, without which the process could not work, then you are exempt from the consent requirement and quite happily have a website with no cookie consent banner. The popups are there because most devs are determined to stuff user tracking and analytics which they really, really need (despite never looking at them) into absolutely everything they develop, even though 99% of the time there's eff all point.