Do tracking tags have visible privacy controls?
It looks for a consent banner and privacy policy alongside detected tracking.
What Check Engine measures
Detected advertising pixels or the recognised session-recording tools trigger the banner-presence condition. If none of the successful pages has a saved consent-banner flag, a medium finding is emitted. Any detected analytics or advertising tracking also prompts a privacy-policy presence check, with another medium finding when the policy is not found. Legal requirements for each visitor need a separate review.
The check reads detected trackers, banner detections and the privacy-policy lookup. Code waiting for consent and a tracker already running describe different states. Review how each tag loads when a visitor makes a choice.
How to read the result
Both findings are medium severity. A detected banner does not prove that it blocks the right tags, records a valid choice or satisfies any particular law. The check's title must not be mistaken for a legal compliance opinion.
Why it matters
What this observes is between tracking code and the controls or policy the site exposes. A presence test can flag a missing piece for review, while the behaviour of that control still needs to be checked directly.
How to fix it
List the tracking tools you intend to run. Review their loading against the consent choices you offer and make the privacy explanation accurate. Test acceptance, refusal and later changes of choice using suitable tools. Seek jurisdiction-specific advice where needed instead of treating an installed banner as proof of compliance.
What we found in field audits
Problems in Tracking & campaign readiness were found on 14 of the 14 sites we audited. These are area totals. Read the field-audit method.
Method note
backend/seo_engine/checks/martech.py, consent, revision 0bb8e8d3.
Common questions
Which tracking tools trigger the consent-banner presence check?
Detected advertising pixels or recognised session-recording tools trigger it. Missing banner flags across successful pages can then produce a finding.
Does finding a banner prove that tracking waits for consent?
No. Banner detection cannot establish that the right tags wait for a choice. Its behaviour needs separate review.
Does analytics tracking also trigger a privacy-policy check?
Yes. A privacy-policy presence check also follows detected analytics or advertising tracking. Missing policy wording produces a medium result.