Does not block cookies after the last update

Hello Vanessa,

I tried to replicate the issue, but I had no luck.

It seems that you have a custom theme: how do you insert Facebook and Analytics code inside your web pages? Is it hardcoded in the theme? If yes, please, check to add the code between the wp_head and wp_footer calls.

Could you check if deactivating cache/optimization plugins solves the problem?

Let me know, Nicola.

Hi Nicola,

Thank you very much for your quick response.

We insert Google analytics on the web with the plugin Google Analytics Dashboard for WP by ExactMetrics, and Facebook with Showeblogin Social Plugin.

We have tried to disable the cache plugin (WP Optimize) but the problem is not solved.

I think it is better that I explain in more detail this curious issue that we have discovered.

We are dedicated to designing web pages and for them to comply with the data protection and privacy law we always install and configure a cookie plugin on all web pages that we design.

The plugins we used previously did not block cookies, but when we discovered the Smart cookie kit a while ago, we found that it worked perfectly. It was the perfect plugin, easy to configure and it correctly blocked third-party cookies.

Smart cookie kit works perfectly, for example, on the web https://www.hoteldelmar.es/it/

If we enable cookies with the “Enable cookies” button on the banner, third-party cookies are enabled correctly (a total of 23 cookies are enabled) and all elements of the page load correctly.

If we disable cookies with the “Disable cookies” button then third-party cookies are disabled and only 7 cookies remain enabled. In addition, the blocked elements (Google maps, facebook, etc.) are no longer seen and the message of the “PLaceholder text” appears instead.

It worked perfectly on all web pages where we have installed smart cookie kit. But now, when updating to version 2.2.4 we have discovered that cookies are no longer blocked.

For example on the web https://www.estudi33.net
Whether we enable or disable third-party cookies, they are still active (facebook for example) and the facebook module is still displayed when it should be blocked and the text of “Placeholder text”.

I hope I have been able to explain myself correctly. And I hope you have some idea how to solve this mysterious problem that has us very concerned.

Thank you very much for your help!

Best regards,
Vanessa

Hi Vanessa,
I understand the problem, you described it very well!

I tried to copy the code that those plugins add to your pages and SCK blocks them. It means that SCK is able to recognize and manage those code blocks.

I think that the problem is related to the server configuration of your web space, so I need your help to understand what is happening.

1) if your server uses any server-side cache (for example Varnish), please, be sure to purge it.

2) Please, check and report to me the error_log. You could also enable the debug mode of WordPress for a few minutes to catch additional details.

Let me know, Nicola.

Hi Nicola,

Again we want to thank you for your help. We are quite concerned about this problem why and we would very much like to be able to solve it.

All web pages are hosted on the same server, which we manage ourselves. This server is divided into 3 different VPS but the same modules are installed and activated in the 3 vps, so we suppose that if it were a server problem we would have the problem on all websites and not only on some of them. Varnish is not installed in our server.

We have installed the Query Monitor plugin to check for bugs. Some of PHP errors have appeared but we don’t know if they may be related to the cookie problem.

Warning - Creating default object from empty value
wp-content/plugins/showeblogin-facebook-page-like-box/showeblogin-facebook-page-plugin.php:42

Function create_function() is deprecated	1	
wp-content/plugins/showeblogin-facebook-page-like-box/showeblogin-facebook-page-plugin.php:57

These errors are related to the facebook plugin. Could this be the plugin causing the problem? We use this same plugin on several web pages. On some websites where this plugin is installed, cookies are correctly blocked.

I hope that with this information you can find a solution on what causes the problem.

Best regards,
Vanessa

Hello Vanessa.

Did you update SCK on every web site? In other words: SCK 2.2.4 is running fine on one site and it is failing on one other?

Could you check which PHP version is used for the two sites?

Could you check the “memory_limit” parameter in the PHP configuration? Could you try to assign more memory?

Could you try to activate a different theme? You could do this test in a staging area or creating a hidden clone of your site.

Let me know, Nicola.

Hello Nicola,

We have been checking how many websites we have installed the SCK plugin. There are a total of 35 websites. And our intention is to install it on the almost 80 websites that we manage.

On 19 websites we have version 2.2.3 installed and on 16 websites we have version 2.2.4 installed.

Version 2.2.3 works correctly on almost all websites although it also fails on some websites.

Some examples of websites with version 2.2.3:
https://www.tallersantfeliu.com – runs fine
https://www.patriciahairsaloon.com – runs fine
https://www.festaipaper.com – fails

Version 2.2.4 fails on almost all websites. It only works in a few.

Some examples of websites with version 2.2.3:
https://www.lamaritima.net – runs fine
https://www.fpbaixemporda.com – fails
https://www.lunarossacostabrava.com – fails

All websites use version 7.4.11 of PHP.
The PHP version is automatically updated. This was updated on October 1. Do you think it could be the cause of the problem? But why does the plugin work correctly on some websites and not on others if they use the same version of php?

“memory_limit” parameter in the PHP configuration of all the webs is 128M.
I have tried to increase to 256M in some web but the problem has not been corrected. This parameter has not been modified and before, with the same memory limit, the plugin worked perfectly.

I have also done some tests changing the active theme on several websites … without result.
Until recently, the plugin worked fine with current themes. The themes have not been updated recently.

And to finish I want to tell you what has happened on some websites. For example on the web https://www.notariadeblas.es

On this website it was working correctly with the SCK plugin version 2.2.3
Cookies were blocked and instead blocked elements (Google maps, facebook, etc.) the “Placeholder text” appeared correctly.

While checking the web I saw that the “Placeholder text” had the lines very close together and I added “.BlockedForCookiePreferences {line-height: 22px;}” to custom css
Once this line of code has been added, the plugin has stopped working and no longer blocks cookies. I’ve tried updating to version 2.2.4 but it still doesn’t work.

Everything seems more and more strange to me. There must be some reason that causes the plugin to crash.

I hope that everything I have explained can give you some clue to unravel the mystery.

Many thanks for your help!

Best regards,
Vanessa

Hello Vanessa!

I am doing some tests, and I think to be in the right direction to find what causes the problem.

Could you disable the JS optimization on one of the “faulty site”, please?

Thank you, Nicola.

Hello Nicola,

I have disabled js optimization (wp optimizer) on https://www.estudi33.net but no change has occurred and cookies are still not blocked.

Best regards,
Vanessa

Hello Vanessa,

I asked to you to disable the JS optimization to make some checks. You can enable it again.

I am doing some research for the problem you reported and the cause seems to be that some portions of code in your page are too long.

Could you try setting Elementor so that it DOES NOT add code inline (CSS and JS), but instead insert them in external files?

Let me know, Nicola.

Hello Nicola,

I have reactivated the JS optimization again.

Elementor is configured by default to insert the codes in external files. I have changed the CSS Print Method to embed it in the page header.

Best regards,
Vanessa

Hello Vanessa,

if it is not Elementor, I think you should check what is adding those inline CSS and JS: viewing the source code of your page (visit in your browser this address view-source:https://www.estudi33.net/), you can se the CSS starting at line 9 and JS starting at line 1390.

Let me know, Nicola.