Granular Consent

The practice of seeking separate consent for different processing purposes or data uses, rather than bundling everything into a single all-or-nothing consent. Granular consent allows individuals to choose which specific processing activities they agree to—consenting to essential service delivery while declining marketing, or accepting functional cookies while rejecting advertising cookies. GDPR requires consent to be specific and informed, which generally means granular consent for distinct purposes. Bundled consent where individuals must accept everything to use a service typically isn't valid under GDPR unless all processing is genuinely necessary for the service. Granular consent respects user autonomy, provides meaningful choice, and ensures consent is freely given. Implementation might include separate checkboxes for different purposes, cookie consent interfaces with category-specific controls, or privacy dashboards allowing purpose-by-purpose consent management. While granular consent requires more complex interfaces, it provides better privacy protection and clearer user preferences.