Create repeatable consent test sessions

1. Record the starting conditions

Write down the exact hostname, page, browser version, test region, banner language and intended consent mode. Use a test browser profile without unrelated extensions. Keep normal privacy protections enabled and record any browser restrictions that affect the test.

2. Separate first visits from return visits

For a first-visit test, use a fresh isolated session or clear storage for the test website only. Clearing site data can sign you out. Do not treat a page refresh, clearing the Network panel, or disabling the HTTP cache as removal of a saved consent choice. In Chrome, Application → Storage → Cookies shows cookies for the selected origin.

Close all private windows before starting another independent private session. Private windows can share a session, and private mode can apply different storage rules from normal browsing. Repeat important findings in a clean normal profile.

3. Run one scenario at a time

Use separate fresh sessions for no choice, rejection, partial acceptance and acceptance of all optional categories. For withdrawal, first accept, reopen settings, withdraw optional consent and inspect subsequent requests and storage. Then reload and confirm that the changed choice persists.

4. Test a return visit without clearing data

Save a choice in a normal profile, reload the same hostname and revisit it. Keep the same browser and stored data. Record whether the choice is remembered and whether optional integrations behave consistently. Repeat each relevant hostname independently; an allowed domain is not evidence that consent is shared across domains.

Expected result: each test records its starting state, action, expected behavior and observed behavior. A difference can be reproduced without confusing a clean first visit with a return visit.