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How to Hide or Remove Unused Cookie Categories in CookieYes

26 threads Sep 7, 2025 Plugin → Cookieyes – cookie banner for cookie consent (easy to setup gdpr/ccpa compliant cookie notice)

Content

Many users of the 'CookieYes – Cookie Banner for Cookie Consent' plugin find that their cookie banner or settings modal displays categories that are empty or not in use. This can clutter the user interface and potentially confuse visitors. This guide explains why this happens and the methods available to clean up your cookie category list.

Why Empty Categories Appear

The plugin is designed to be comprehensive and often includes several pre-defined cookie categories (like Analytics, Performance, Advertisement, etc.) by default to align with GDPR guidelines. After a cookie scan, if no cookies are found for a specific category, it will appear empty. The method for managing these empty categories depends on which version of the plugin interface you are using.

Solution 1: Hiding Categories (Plugin Version 3.0 and Newer)

Starting from version 3.0, the plugin introduced a feature to hide categories without deleting them. This is often the preferred method as it allows you to easily bring a category back later if needed.

  1. In your WordPress admin dashboard, navigate to Cookie Banner.
  2. Click on the General tab.
  3. Find and click Show advanced options.
  4. Scroll down to the option labeled Hide cookie categories from the banner.
  5. Select the checkbox next to each empty category you wish to hide (e.g., Performance, Advertisement).
  6. Save your changes. The selected categories will no longer be visible to your site visitors.

Solution 2: Deleting Categories

If you are certain you will never need a specific category, you can choose to delete it entirely. This is a permanent action.

  1. Navigate to GDPR Cookie Consent > Cookie Category.
  2. Find the unused category (e.g., "Performance").
  3. Hover over its name and click Delete.
  4. It is also recommended to check the Cookie List and delete any individual cookie entries that were associated with that category to ensure a complete cleanup.

Note: As confirmed by user reports, deleting a category and its associated cookies from the list will successfully stop the plugin from setting the corresponding checkbox cookie (e.g., `cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance`).

What If I Don't See the 'Cookie Category' Menu?

If your plugin menu still shows the old "Necessary" and "Non-necessary" sections instead of the dynamic "Cookie Category" menu, your site may need a database migration to access the new features.

  1. Go to GDPR Cookie Consent > Cookie Scanner.
  2. Look for a button or link labeled Migrate database or Migrate cookie categories.
  3. Click it to update your plugin's database structure. This should generate the new categories and menu options.

Conclusion

Whether you choose to hide or delete unused cookie categories, the 'CookieYes – Cookie Banner for Cookie Consent' plugin provides ways to create a cleaner and more user-friendly cookie consent experience. For most users on modern versions of the plugin, the hide function within the Cookie Banner's advanced settings is the simplest and most flexible solution.

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