DPDP Act + Rules 2025: The New Standard for Cookie Consent (and How to Get It Right)

If your website uses analytics, marketing pixels, retargeting tags, chat widgets, A/B testing tools, or personalization scripts, your cookie banner isn’t a design element anymore. It’s a compliance control.

India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDP), and the DPDP Rules, 2025 raise the bar on what “consent” and “notice” should look like in real life: clear, specific, provable, and easy to withdraw.

This blog breaks down what the law expects (in practical terms), why cookie consent is now a frontline DPDP risk, and how to operationalize it using a proper cookie consent management tool — like GoTrust Cookie Consent Management.

1. DPDP doesn’t say “cookies”, but cookies can still trigger DPDP

DPDP applies when you process personal data — data about an individual who is identifiable directly or indirectly. Many cookies and trackers store identifiers (cookie IDs, device identifiers) or enable profiling when combined with IP address and device signals. In practice, that means cookies often sit inside “processing personal data”.

If your cookies are used for marketing, cross-site tracking, behavioural analytics, ad attribution, or personalization, the safest DPDP posture is to treat them as consent-based processing and to implement controls that can be defended in an audit.

2. What valid consent looks like on a website

DPDP sets a high standard for consent. For most websites, cookie consent becomes the most visible place where this standard is tested.

A. Keep it clear and in plain language

Your banner and preference center should explain what cookies do and why you use them in language that a non-lawyer can understand. Avoid ambiguous “we may use your data…” phrasing. Be specific about purposes.

B. Choices must be real (no bundled consent)

Consent should be purpose-specific. Users should be able to accept or refuse non-essential cookies without being forced into an “all or nothing” decision.

C. Withdrawal should be as easy as giving consent

Users must be able to change their mind. If “Accept all” is one click, withdrawal should not require digging through hidden settings.

3. DPDP Rules 2025 sharpen the “notice” requirement

The DPDP Rules, 2025 make it harder to rely on vague privacy language. A good cookie notice experience should help a user quickly understand:

• What categories of data cookies collect (e.g., identifiers, usage data, device data)
• What purposes apply (e.g., necessary, analytics, advertising/marketing, personalization)
• How to withdraw or change consent later (a persistent “Cookie Settings” link)
• How to contact you for questions (privacy contact/grievance channel)

Read Original Article Here > DPDP Act + Rules 2025: The New Standard for Cookie Consent (and How to Get It Right)