Duration

What it is

Controls how long a visitor’s consent cookie remains valid in their browser. A connected site and an unconnected WordPress site do not share this control.

How it works (end-to-end)

• On first decision, the visitor selects a Duration in the banner (if the duration selector is shown).
• When they click Save my preferences (or your custom label; Classic engine, the New banner has no Save button), Cookie Compliance writes a consent cookie with that expiry.
• Until expiry, the banner, autoblocking rules, and integrations (e.g., Google/Microsoft/Facebook consent modes) honor the stored choices.
• After expiry, the banner re-prompts. A new consent cookie is set when the visitor interacts again and saves.

Where: On a connected site, open Configuration → Behavior and edit Consent expiry. It stores exactly three durations, chosen from 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, 12 months, and 24 months. Those three are the choices the banner can offer. The portal has no separate accepted expiry and rejected expiry. On the Free plan the field is locked (Pro) and the banner uses the default durations. On an unconnected WordPress site, use Cookie Consent tab → Cookie Expiry, which has those two dropdowns.

Editing the options

• On the portal, remove one of the three values with the “x”, then pick a replacement so three remain. The choices are 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, 12 months, and 24 months.
• Changes take effect immediately for new consents. Existing visitors keep their current expiry until they re-consent.

WordPress, unconnected sites

Cookie Consent tab → Cookie Expiry has two dropdowns, Accepted expiry and Rejected expiry. Both use this list:

• An hour – the choice is remembered for one hour, then the banner shows again; suitable for high-sensitivity contexts.
• 1 day – daily re-prompt.
• 1 week – weekly re-prompt.
• 1 month – monthly renewal.
• 3 months – quarterly renewal.
• 6 months – CNIL guidance commonly cites this as a prudent upper bound for cookie consent validity.
• 1 year – annual renewal.
• Infinity – asks for the longest possible cookie. Browsers still cap how long a cookie lasts (Chrome at about 400 days; Safari can cap cookies set by page scripts at 7 days), so visitors see the banner again after that.

Accepted expiry vs. Rejected expiry

Those two dropdowns exist only on an unconnected WordPress site:

• Accepted expiry – how long a positive consent choice is remembered.
• Rejected expiry – how long a rejection (Private / refuse) is remembered before the banner asks again.

You may set shorter rejected expiry periods to give visitors a periodic opportunity to reconsider.

Defaults & guidance

• Both GDPR-style and U.S. consumer privacy regimes favor periodic renewal so people can make an informed choice again.
• If you serve the EU/EEA (or align globally), keep renewal periodic — CNIL-style guidance commonly treats about 6 months as a prudent upper bound. On a connected site that means picking 6 months among the three Consent expiry values. Separate accepted vs rejected expiry exists only on an unconnected WordPress site.
• Use Infinity only where your legal basis supports indefinite consent storage and you offer a visible Update consent icon.