Rejecting cookies takes more clicks than accepting them

Raised by 567 people over 18 years (2009–2026), in 14 of them.

What people report

2009-07
Your site should allow me to at least take a look at your home page without needing a cookie.
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2020-12
If a site wants me to do that all individually, I close the window.
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2022-03
many of these "consent" dialogs allow you to "reject all" for cookies, but require an "object to all" for "legitimate interest" purposes
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2024-02
the cookie popup on ios such that attempting to reject presses on accept
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2026-10
How is it possible for these websites to not offer a “reject all” button when it comes to cookies but instead “reject and subscribe?”
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Principle

Flexibility and efficiency of use (Nielsen)

People report that accepting takes one click while refusing means opening extra screens, unchecking dozens of toggles or vendors one by one, or hunting for a hidden link, so the path most of them want is the slowest one.

A fix

Put a one-click "Reject all" on the first layer of the banner, next to "Accept all" and the same size, and have it also switch off every category and vendor without further steps. In the detailed settings, leave non-essential toggles off by default, add a per-category master switch, and label each category as functional or tracking in plain language.

Grouping, principle and fix drafted with Claude and reviewed by Justusability. Counts are people whose comment Claude labelled a usability complaint about this issue; see Method for how, and its limits. Something wrong here?

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