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ConsentMagic Pro / Tracking & Blocking / Categories

Categories

Last updated: February 12, 2026

In ConsentMagic, every script and cookie is assigned to a Category (also called a “type”). Categories are what visitors see in the consent banner, and they’re what the plugin uses to decide what to block and what to allow.

How Categories work

1) Categories are what users consent to

On the front end, visitors don’t approve “Google Analytics” or “Facebook Pixel” individually (unless you use IAB vendor controls). They approve categories, for example:

  • Necessary
  • Analytics
  • Marketing
  • Embedded Videos
  • Google Fonts

So the user’s choice is basically:
✅ allow Analytics / ❌ block Marketing, etc.

2) Consent is applied per-category

Once the visitor makes a choice, ConsentMagic applies it like this:

  • If a category is allowed → scripts/cookies in that category can run
  • If a category is rejected → scripts/cookies in that category are blocked
  • Necessary is usually always allowed (site functionality)

This is the core logic behind script blocking.

What you can do in the Categories tab

Enable/Disable a category

Each category has an ON/OFF toggle.

  • ON = the category is active, shown to visitors, and used in blocking logic.
  • OFF = the category is ignored by ConsentMagic.

Turning a category OFF is essentially “don’t manage this category.”
It won’t be part of the consent UI/logic, and scripts assigned to it won’t be controlled through that category.

Edit a category

Click Edit next to a category to configure what users will see:

  • Title (label shown in the consent UI)
  • Description (explains what the category does)
  • IAB Purpose (recommended) (maps the category to an IAB purpose when using an IAB rule)
  • Additional languages (optional translations per category)

Add a new category

Click + Add new type to create your own category if you want more granular control (example: “Performance”, “A/B Testing”, “Chat Widgets”, etc.).

Best practices

  • Keep categories simple unless you really need extra granularity (most sites do fine with 4–6).
  • Put anything that tracks, profiles, or advertises in Marketing.
  • Use Analytics strictly for measurement tools.
  • Use Embedded Videos for YouTube/Vimeo placeholders so users can enable them explicitly.
  • Don’t turn categories OFF unless you intentionally want ConsentMagic to stop managing that whole group.