What does the cookie consent log record?
The CookieConsentHQ cookie consent log stores each recorded visitor choice with a consent ID, a UTC timestamp and the action taken. It also records selected categories, the banner configuration version and the location and signal context associated with that choice.
The action is identified as Accept all, Reject all or Custom. The location fields include region, country and state or province, while a separate field records whether the visitor sent a Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal. Each record also contains the page path where the choice was made. These details let you inspect the stored choice alongside the banner version and geographic context recorded with it.
The log stores a truncated IP address instead of the full IP address. It also stores a SHA-256 hash of the user agent instead of the raw user-agent string. The record keeps those transformed values, so checking a stored choice does not require handling a full IP address or raw user-agent string from that entry. CookieConsentHQ provides GPC support on every plan, and the log preserves whether that signal was sent for the recorded choice.
How can I find a specific consent record?
You can open one consent record by its consent ID in the dashboard. The ID is stored with the visitor's choice in their browser, and your site can read it with CCHQ.getConsent().id, for example to include it in a privacy request form.
That gives you a defined way to connect a visitor's request to a stored choice. The record then shows the action, categories, timestamp and other saved fields, including the banner configuration version and page path. When checking what was recorded, use the actual action and categories rather than inferring a choice from the visitor's location alone.
The same ID-based lookup matters when questions arise about a choice made under an earlier banner configuration. The configuration version is saved with the record, so the entry identifies which version accompanied that decision. Retention periods still apply: a record older than the period included with the plan is no longer kept.
For broader information about how the banner handles choices, visit GDPR cookie consent. That page is separate from the record lookup process, which is based on the saved consent ID.
Can I export the log for my records?
Yes, the consent log supports CSV export from the dashboard on every plan. The exported records come from the choices stored under that plan's logging and retention limits.
A CSV export gives you a way to work with recorded choices outside the dashboard, while the single-record lookup remains available when you have a consent ID. Treat both as ways to access the records the system has stored, rather than as a way to reconstruct decisions that were never logged. In particular, exceeding the Free plan's monthly pageview allowance pauses the creation of new consent records until the next month.
The log describes visitor choices, while the cookie scanner examines cookies found during website crawls. A scan result is useful for investigating cookies that appear on a page; a consent record is useful for checking the action captured for an individual choice. Keeping those two sources separate makes their purpose easier to explain when you share a CSV export or inspect a scan result.
How long does CookieConsentHQ keep records?
Free keeps consent records for one year, Starter for three years, and Growth, Business and Agency for five years. The retention period depends on the plan rather than on the visitor's selected consent categories.
Those periods are worth checking before you select a plan. A small site that needs one year of stored choices has a different requirement from a site that needs five years. The available period is a product setting described by the plan, not a determination of how long any particular website is legally required to retain its records. You can compare the retention periods with monthly pageview allowances on the pricing page.
Retention and the pageview allowance also answer different questions. Retention describes how long recorded choices are kept. The Free pageview limit describes when new choices stop being added for the remainder of that month. An existing record and a future unrecorded choice should not be treated as the same thing.
What happens if the Free plan reaches 25k pageviews?
On Free, new consent records pause after 25,000 monthly pageviews and resume the next month. The banner and automatic blocking of known trackers stay active, and there are no overage fees.
This distinction belongs next to any statement that the banner keeps working after its pageview allowance. A visitor can still encounter the banner and its blocking behavior while new choices are not being added to the log during that pause. You should consider that recording gap when deciding whether Free meets your needs, especially if keeping a record of every choice is central to how you use the platform.
Paid plans show an upgrade prompt in the dashboard after the relevant pageview allowance is exceeded, without overage fees or a banner shutdown. To compare the Free and paid allowances, review pricing. The retained history, the ability to export it and the behavior at a pageview limit are all parts of the same plan decision.