Backup & Restore: how to save and restore your cookie configuration

The Backup & Restore lets you save two different things to file, and put them back when needed: your site's cookie configuration (Cookie List) and the plugin configuration (banner, texts, Policy Assistant, Consent Mode, scanner). These are two separate tabs, producing two distinct files, and a complete backup requires both.

It is the right tool whenever you are about to touch something delicate: before major changes to the Cookie List or the options, before a full cleanup, to migrate or clone a site, or simply as a periodic safeguard.

There is one thing to keep in mind, above all else: always export before touching anything. The backup file is your safety net, and this rule applies to both tabs.

You find the page in the WordPress dashboard, under My Agile Privacy® → Backup & Restore. Inside there are two tabs:

• "Cookies" (the one active when you open the page) with the three-step procedure: "STEP 1" to export, "STEP 2" to delete everything and "STEP 3" to import.
• "Plugin Options" to export and import the complete plugin configuration (banner, texts, Policy Assistant, Consent Mode, scanner).

The two tabs produce two different files that do not replace each other: the cookie file contains only the Cookie List, the options file contains only how the plugin is configured. Anyone migrating a complete site needs both.

Cookies tab: exporting the configuration (STEP 1)

In the "STEP 1" card press the "Export Cookie Settings" button. The browser immediately downloads a JSON file (export.json) with your Cookie List configuration.

It is important to know what the file contains - and what it does not:

• It contains only published cookies. Drafts are not included.
• It includes both standard cookies (those from the My Agile Privacy® database) and custom cookies you have added manually.
• Policies are not exported: the file deals exclusively with cookies.

Keep the file somewhere safe: you will need it to restore the configuration, to migrate it to another site, or simply as a backup copy.

Cookies tab: deleting all cookies (STEP 2)

In the "STEP 2" card the "Clean All Cookie" button empties the configuration completely. You are asked for an explicit confirmation before proceeding.

Warning: this operation is drastic. All cookies and all policies are deleted, in any state, including drafts. Here is what happens right after:

• Standard cookies and policies are automatically recreated at the next synchronization with the My Agile Privacy® database.
• Custom cookies and any manual edits to the texts are permanently lost, unless you exported them first.

This is why the rule stays the same: export first (STEP 1). The interface itself reminds you and prompts you to fully reload the page before proceeding with an import.

Cookies tab: importing the configuration (STEP 3)

In the "STEP 3" card choose the file with the selector and press "Import Cookie Settings". Wait for the page to fully load before launching the import.

The import behaves differently depending on the cookie type:

• Standard cookies: standard cookies present in the file update those already existing on the site, recognized through the My Agile Privacy® database identifier. If a standard cookie does not yet exist on the site, the import does not create it: on the destination site it is therefore advisable to let the plugin complete its synchronization before importing.
• Custom cookies: these are always added as new. This means that importing the same file repeatedly creates duplicates of custom cookies. After the import, open the Cookie List and remove any duplicates.

One thing to know well: the cookie import does not show any outcome message. When the operation is done the page simply reloads, with no success or error notice. Verification must therefore be done manually, by opening the Cookie List and checking that all cookies are there and that there are no duplicates.

A note on synchronization: imported standard cookies remain linked to automatic updates, so their texts can be realigned by the next synchronization; custom cookies, on the other hand, are never touched by the sync.

Plugin Options tab: what it is and who can use it

The "Plugin Options" tab exports and imports the complete plugin configuration: not cookies, not policies, but how the banner looks, what the texts say, which functions are on, how the Policy Assistant is configured.

This feature requires an active license. Without one, the tab shows the notice "Options backup & restore is a feature not available for your license." instead of the buttons.

Exporting and importing options also requires a WordPress Administrator user: a role that has been granted permission to manage My Agile Privacy® can export cookies but not options.

Plugin Options tab: exporting

In the "Export options" box press the button of the same name. The browser immediately downloads a JSON file whose name starts with map-options- followed by the date and time it was generated (in UTC, not the site's local time).

There is no intermediate window or confirmation: the file goes straight to your downloads.

What the options file contains

In simple terms, everything you have configured in the plugin travels inside the file:

• the cookie banner: size, position, colors, animation, borders, buttons, title, order;
• the translated banner texts for all the languages you have written them in;
• the policy links (the addresses of the pages the banner links to);
• privacy functions: blocked content notice, privacy mode for videos, blocking of maps and captcha;
• Consent Mode: Google Consent Mode v2 with its default values, Microsoft and Clarity, IAB TCF on or off;
• the scanner: compatibility mode and hook priorities;
• the Policy Assistant: controller data (name, address, VAT number, email), DPO data, selected countries and regulations, declared site characteristics, security measures, and the country map with forced geolocation opt-out.

What it does NOT contain

This is the point where it is easy to guess wrong, so it needs to be said explicitly:

• the license key and all license state: the destination site must be activated with its own license, as always;
• cookies and policies: they live in the other file, the one from the Cookies tab;
• the Consent Statistics toggle and the GA4 events toggle: they stay as they are on the destination site, and need to be turned back on manually if needed;
• WordPress internal identifiers: the file carries the policy addresses, not their internal IDs;
• the synchronization state and diagnostic counters: these are snapshots of the moment, not configuration.

In short: the file contains how the plugin is configured, not who the site is.

An important warning about the data

The file contains the controller's data (name, address, VAT number, email) and the DPO's data if filled in, in plain text. The file is not encrypted and is not password-protected: treat it as a confidential document, do not attach it to a public ticket and do not leave it in a web-accessible folder.

Plugin Options tab: importing

In the "Import options" box choose the file with the selector and press the button of the same name. Unlike the cookie import, here there is an outcome message.

The import merges: settings present in the file replace the current ones, and settings the file does not contain stay as they are. Here is how it behaves:

• the Policy Assistant merges field by field: a field filled in on the site but absent from the file is not deleted;
• it discards what it does not recognize: an unknown entry or a wrongly formatted value is ignored instead of entering the configuration;
• in translated texts only basic formatting survives (bold, italic, line breaks, links): any other HTML tag is removed;
• at the end the plugin cache is refreshed: the banner restarts with the new values without having to clear anything manually.

The file must not exceed 2 MB: a real backup is much smaller, so if a file goes over that threshold it is not a plugin backup.

An ongoing Banner A/B Test blocks the import

If a Banner A/B Test is active, the button responds with the notice "Do you want to import the settings? Then close the ongoing Banner A/B Test first." and nothing is imported. Close the test first, then try again. Exporting always works.

Migrating the configuration to another site

A complete My Agile Privacy® backup requires both files: the cookie file (Cookies tab) and the options file (Plugin Options tab). Neither contains the other's data.

The recommended procedure is as follows:

1. On the source site, "Cookies" tab, press "Export Cookie Settings": you get export.json.
2. On the source site, "Plugin Options" tab, press "Export options": you get map-options-....json.
3. On the destination site: install the plugin, activate the license and let the first synchronization complete.
4. Import the options (Plugin Options tab). It is advisable to do this first because it refreshes the plugin cache.
5. Import the cookies (Cookies tab, STEP 3).
6. Verify the Cookie List and double-check the policy addresses: in the options file they travel as source-site addresses and need to be rewritten if the domain has changed.

A few things to keep in mind:

• Custom cookies may contain code or URLs referencing the old site: double-check them after migration and update them if necessary.
• Policies do not travel in either file: on the new site they regenerate through synchronization and still need to be reviewed.
• If Consent Statistics or GA4 events were off on the destination site, they stay off: they need to be turned back on manually.

Learn more

Learn more: My Agile Privacy® Options Guide

If you have doubts about which file to use, or need a hand during a migration, write to us via the contact form: a real person answers.