GitHub cuts unnecessary cookies, saving you from clicking cookie banners

You won't see any more cookie banners on GitHub.

What you need to know

• Microsoft's GitHub has removed cookie banners from its website.
• It did so by removing all cookies that aren't required for the website to work.
• GitHub still has cookies, but they are essential for the website to function.

You won't see cookie banners on GitHub anymore. The team behind GitHub removed all unnecessary cookies from the website, which allows them to remove any cookie banners. GitHub still has cookies, but they are essential for the website to function, so the site isn't required to have a banner for them.

EU law requires websites to have a cookie banner if a site contains any cookies that aren't required for the site to work. Some examples include cookies for analytics and advertising. These are often used for personalized ads and in other ways, but the EU wants to make sure people know when these cookies are in use.

GitHub's Nat Friedman explains in a blog post why GitHub removed unnecessary cookies, stating:

At GitHub, we want to protect developer privacy, and we find cookie banners quite irritating, so we decided to look for a solution. After a brief search, we found one: just don't use any non-essential cookies. Pretty simple, really. 🤔

As a result of removing non-essential cookies, GitHub no longer sends information to third-party analytics services. Friedman highlights that "GitHub still does not use any cookies to display ads, or track you across other sites," emphasizing that GitHub did not do this before and will continue to not do so in the future.