Another web developer here, that is how the California and European rules are interpreted. If we’re acting in good faith we do not store anything.
Maybe you can find a way to argue user settings and session cookies don’t require consent, but I am not a lawyer and I err on the side that doesn’t put me out of business.
I wrote a review about a counterfeit item I received. They never approved that one. I haven’t bought cologne from them since.
The flight against authoritarianism doesn’t end. Ever. We could be in an anarcho-communist eutopia, there would still be those who seek to wield power over others.