Investigating Cookie Banners and Mitigating Complacent Clicking With Informed-Choice Architecture

Bibliographic Data

ID21411108
AuthorsLacy Hope (0009-0009-5019-9517, Utah Tech University, General Classroom Building, corresponding author), Joy McMurrin (0009-0008-4561-4280, Utah Tech University, General Classroom Building), Merika Moffatt (0009-0006-5354-6818, Utah Tech University, General Classroom Building)
Year2025
Publication date2025-10-23
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Technical Writing and Communication (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0047-2816 • E-ISSN: 1541-3780
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/00472816251384924
OpenAlexW4415493677
LanguageEN
References cited20

Cookies, or small packets of data sent between programs, have become synonymous with the opaque practices for collecting, storing, and commodifying user-generated data. Convoluted language and misleading design practices impede user understanding and agency over the security of their data, including its collection, use, and storage. This article provides a brief history of cookies, presents concerns related to how websites inform users of the presence of cookies and their choices in how they are used, and introduces heuristics that align with technical and professional communication best practices for crafting user-centered cookie banners

Agency (philosophy) · Best practice · Heuristics · Intelligence analysis · Rhetoric · Technical communication · United States National Security Agency · Architecture · Consumer Behavior in Brand Consumption and Identification · Consumer Market Behavior and Pricing · Consumer Retail Behavior Studies

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