Install and turn on GoConsent

GoConsent is free in the WordPress plugin directory. Installing it changes nothing on your site at first: there’s no banner, no blocking and no background scan until an administrator accepts its terms. That way you decide when protection starts.

Install

1. In WordPress, go to Plugins › Add New Plugin.
2. Search for GoConsent, click Install Now, then Activate.
3. Open GoConsent™ in the admin menu. A box called Before GoConsent starts appears.
4. Tick I have read and agree to the GoConsent terms, then click Agree and activate.

The box sums up the terms in three lines: GoConsent is a compliance tool, not legal advice; you stay responsible for your site’s compliance; and it’s provided as is, with limited liability. Read the full terms opens the Terms tab, which also shows who accepted them and when. If you click Not now, the Overview shows Review terms & activate so you can come back to it.

What happens when you activate

• The header reads “Protection active”. The banner, tracking protection and cookie-free traffic stats are on.
• The first scan starts in the background a few seconds later. After that, it runs once a day.
• Known trackers, such as ad pixels, are held right away. For the first 24 hours, unfamiliar scripts are only listed, so you can check nothing important breaks; after that they’re held too. Click Activate now on the Overview or Scanner tab to end this watch period early.

Next, set up your business profile so GoConsent knows which laws likely apply, then read your first scan.

Who sees the banner

People who run the site don’t get the banner or any blocking, so page builders, maps and admin tools keep working for them. Administrators and editors are always included. Authors and contributors are included too, unless you untick them under Staff on the Consent tab. Common shop and CRM roles, such as WooCommerce shop managers, are found automatically. Visitors and customers with accounts still get the banner.

To see the banner as visitors do, open your site in a private window, or use Preview › Open site on the Consent tab. Preview stays on as you click around until you close the browser.

Multisite

Network activation sets up every site, and sites you add later are set up on their first visit. Each site keeps its own settings, scan, policies and records, and each site’s terms are accepted on that site.

Moving to Pro, or removing GoConsent

• GoConsent Pro is a separate plugin that replaces the free one. Activating Pro switches the free copy off, and both share the same settings and records. See Install Pro and activate your license.
• Deactivating GoConsent keeps your data. Deleting it removes everything, including your consent records and privacy requests. Download your consent records as a CSV from the Consent tab first.