GitHub.com dumps non-essential cookies

To improve site usability for developers, the popular codesharing site has eliminated cookies related to tracking, advertising, and other non-essential uses.

GitHub has removed all non-essential cookies from GitHub.com and its subdomains. The move is intended to protect privacy and prioritize the developer experience, the company said. Users will no longer see cookie banners on the popular codesharing site.

Describing cookie banners as “irritating,” GitHub decided to eliminate the use of “non-essential” cookies. As a result, the website will no longer send any information to third-party analytics services. GitHub also has maintained its policy of not using cookies to display ads or track users across other sites. Going forward, GitHub will only use cookies required for it to serve GitHub.com.

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Developers on GitHub and elsewhere have been bogged down with alerts, check boxes, and approval banners, GitHub said. As of December 17, GitHub is removing non-essential cookies from its website in an attempt to improve both website usability for developers privacy around website usage.

GitHub pointed out that European Union law has required the use of cookie banners if websites contain cookies not required for it to work. Common examples of these cookies are third-party analytics, tracking, and advertising services. These services collect information about behavior across the web, store it in databases, and use it to serve personalized ads.