Balance customer experience with privacy
Real-time chat features, such as LiveChat rely on cookies and similar technologies to function properly. However, respecting website users’ or customers’ privacy is equally important. A well-designed cookie banner can help you achieve both goals:
- Informs customers/website users: It clearly explains how your website uses cookies and similar technologies (like local storage) to personalize your customers’ LiveChat widget experience.
- Gains trust: Transparency builds trust by demonstrating your commitment to data protection.
- Ensures compliance: It adheres to regulations like CCPA and GDPR.
Navigate consent regulations
Each regulation has its unique set of requirements that must be met to obtain cookie consent. For example, the CCPA offers an opt-out strategy, enabling websites to employ cookies or other local storage by default with the option to object. In contrast, active consent is mandatory for compliance with GDPR and the ePrivacy Directive. Users must explicitly and knowingly consent to the processing of their personal data and the use of non-essential cookies or other local storage to track online activity for analytics, behavior, profiling, or social media purposes.
Unlock the power of LiveChat’s cookies
LiveChat sets two primary cookies: lc_cid (customer ID) and lc_cst (customer secure token) - necessary for LiveChat widget operation and functionality. These cookies have a two-year expiry date and are designed to enhance the real-time LiveChat service provided on your website by remembering customer identities and securing chat sessions. They do not store personal information such as names or IP addresses, aligning with privacy requirements by focusing solely on service functionality.
Categorize LiveChat cookies in your chat widget
When using the widget, make sure to properly categorize the LiveChat cookies, which are crucial for enriching user interaction and delivering a personalized and seamless experience through the LiveChat widget, given the key aspects presented below.
- Functionality focus: LiveChat cookies are designed to enhance the core functionality of the LiveChat widget, enabling features like maintaining chat sessions, reconnecting with previous agents and remembering user conversations and interactions over multiple site visits. They focus on optimizing the user experience within the LiveChat platform rather than tracking user behavior for advertising purposes.
- Limited data collection: Unlike marketing cookies, which collect a vast amount of user data across various websites, LiveChat cookies gather minimal information strictly necessary for widget operation. This includes user identification within the chat system, preventing unauthorized access to conversations, and ensuring secure interactions. However, they can still contain personal information based on user preferences and interactions, which should be protected to ensure privacy.
- Essential for service delivery: LiveChat cookies are indispensable for the proper functioning of the LiveChat widget. Without these cookies, essential features like chat history retention would be unavailable.
- Privacy compliance: Their role in widget delivery and limited data collection align with privacy regulations, making them less intrusive compared to marketing cookies. By understanding the purpose and value of these cookies, website visitors can appreciate the significance they play in enhancing their online experience.
Adopt a compliant consent model
In addition to LiveChat cookies, your websites may use a wider range of cookies, such as analytics, social media, advertising, and personalization cookies. The distinction will affect the design of your consent model and your compliance requirements to respect user privacy while meeting legal obligations and supporting your business operations. It’s important to note, that depending on your specific purposes and relevant privacy regulations, obtaining user consent may also be necessary.
To ensure both compliance and enhanced user experience, the first step involves choosing an appropriate consent model and setting up an effective cookie banner. By clearly understanding the various purposes of cookies used on your website, you can adopt a consent model that effectively balances user privacy, legal requirements, and your business objectives.
Selecting the right model is crucial, just as crafting an effective cookie banner that requires a well-rounded approach. Here are some key considerations to keep in mind:
Design your cookie banner
An effective cookie banner is compliant and aligns with your website’s design and user experience. Whether you choose a top header, footer, or popup banner, it’s important to ensure that it is informative, user-friendly, and styled to match your website. Make sure your website visitors feel comfortable and informed!
Tailor content and test
Segment your audience and tailor your cookie banner content to fit their needs and expectations. Use A/B testing to find out which designs, messages, and placements yield the highest consent rates.
Optimize cookie banner performance
Introduce your cookie notice as soon as users land on your website to establish clarity from the start. Optimize for performance by ensuring that your cookie notice scripts, including those for LiveChat, do not adversely affect your website’s load times. Don’t forget to leverage cookie management tools to make the most of your customers’ LiveChat experience!
Ensure compliance and enhance UX
To enhance your compliance and improve user experience, you may introduce your own banner or consider implementing a Consent Management Platform (CMP). This can simplify the process of obtaining and managing user consent, particularly for tracking cookies beyond the functional ones used by LiveChat.
Additionally, it’s important to test and optimize your cookie notice to ensure it positively impacts site performance and user experience. Continuous testing will help ensure that your cookie banner remains effective and compliant.
Advantages for remarketing and compliance with Google Consent Mode
An active consent model respects user privacy and offers benefits, such as gathering valuable insights into user behavior and preferences, targeting your marketing campaigns based on user preferences, and ensuring that Google tags respect user choices for analytics and marketing purposes in compliance with Google Consent Mode.
Ready to enhance your user experience?
Improving your cookie banner is not just about compliance; it also plays a crucial role in maintaining user trust and satisfaction.
For LiveChat, this means ensuring that your chat widget’s cookies are clearly communicated, consents are properly managed, and user experience is continuously optimized. Embrace these practices to enhance your website’s cookie banner and provide your customers a seamless, respectful browsing experience.