Store and Honor Consent Records

Record what each user consented to, when, and under which policy version, then gate optional processing on the current consent so you can prove and honor it.

~45 minprivacycompliancesecurity

Task

Add a consent store that records policy version and purpose so optional data use can be enabled, disabled, and audited.

When to use this

The app collects consent in a banner but never stores which policy version or purposes were accepted, so it cannot prove or withdraw consent.

Prerequisites

A store for consent records
A policy version identifier

Steps

1. Record user id, purpose, policy version, decision, and timestamp for each consent.

Expected output: Every decision is attributable and dated.

2. Gate optional processing on the presence of an active consent for that purpose.

Expected output: Processing only occurs when permitted.

3. Let users withdraw consent and propagate the change to downstream systems.

Expected output: Withdrawal actually stops the processing.

4. Keep an immutable history so past decisions can be audited.

curl -X POST https://api.example.com/consent -d '{"purpose":"analytics","granted":true,"policy":"2.1"}'

Expected output: You can show what was consented to when.

Troubleshooting

Problem

Consent not enforced downstream

Solution

Propagate withdrawal to analytics and marketing systems, or read the consent store as their source of truth.

Problem

Policy version drift

Solution

Increment the policy version when terms change and re-prompt where required.

Limitations

A consent record is only as good as its enforcement; storing it without gating processing gives a false sense of compliance.
Consent does not cover all lawful bases; some processing rests on contract or legal obligation instead.

Context

Add a consent store that records policy version and purpose so optional data use can be enabled, disabled, and audited. The app collects consent in a banner but never stores which policy version or purposes were accepted, so it cannot prove or withdraw consent.

Steps

Record user id, purpose, policy version, decision, and timestamp for each consent. Expected: Every decision is attributable and dated.
Gate optional processing on the presence of an active consent for that purpose. Expected: Processing only occurs when permitted.
Let users withdraw consent and propagate the change to downstream systems. Expected: Withdrawal actually stops the processing.
Keep an immutable history so past decisions can be audited. Expected: You can show what was consented to when.

await consents.insert({
  userId, purpose: 'analytics', policyVersion: '2.1',
  granted: true, at: new Date(), source: 'banner',
});
const allowed = await consents.active(userId, 'analytics');

Verify

Every decision is attributable and dated.
Processing only occurs when permitted.
Withdrawal actually stops the processing.
You can show what was consented to when.

Limits

A consent record is only as good as its enforcement; storing it without gating processing gives a false sense of compliance.
Consent does not cover all lawful bases; some processing rests on contract or legal obligation instead.