What is a cookie?
A cookie is a harmless text file stored in your browser when you visit almost any webpage. Its main purpose is for the website to remember your visit when you return. Although many people are unaware of this, cookies have been in use for over 20 years, ever since the first browsers appeared for the World Wide Web.
What is NOT a cookie?
A cookie is not a virus, a Trojan, a worm, spam, spyware, nor does it open pop-up windows.
What information does a cookie store?
Cookies do not usually store sensitive information like credit card data, bank details, photos, your ID, or personal information. The data they store is technical, related to personal preferences, content customization, etc.
The web server associates the cookie with your browser, not with you as a person. For example, if you usually browse with Internet Explorer and then try using the same website with Firefox or Chrome, the website won’t recognize that you are the same person, because it is actually associating the browser, not the individual.
What types of cookies exist?
- Technical cookies: These are the most basic ones and allow the website to identify when a human or automated application is browsing, whether a user is registered or anonymous, and to perform essential tasks for any dynamic website.
- Analytics cookies: They collect information about the type of browsing being performed, the most visited sections, consulted products, browsing times, language, etc.
- Advertising cookies: They show advertisements based on your browsing behavior, country of origin, language, etc.
What are first-party and third-party cookies?
First-party cookies are generated by the page you are visiting, while third-party cookies are generated by external services or providers such as Facebook, Twitter, Google, etc.
What happens if I disable cookies?
Disabling cookies can affect your browsing experience. Here are some examples:
- You will not be able to share content from that website on Facebook, Twitter, or any other social network.
- The website will not be able to tailor its content to your personal preferences, as is common in online stores.
- You will not be able to access personal areas of the website, such as “My account,” “My profile,” or “My orders.”
- In online stores, you will not be able to make purchases online, and instead, you will have to make them by phone or by visiting the physical store if it exists.
- It will not be possible to personalize your geographic preferences, such as time zone, currency, or language.
- The website will not be able to perform web analytics on visitors and traffic, making it harder for the site to remain competitive.
- You will not be able to write on blogs, upload photos, post comments, rate or review content. The website will not know if you are a human or an automated application publishing spam.
- Sector-based advertising will not be shown, reducing the website’s advertising revenue.
- All social networks use cookies. If you disable them, you won’t be able to use any social media platform.
Can cookies be deleted?
Yes. Not only can you delete cookies, but you can also block them, either globally or specifically for a particular domain.
To delete cookies from a website, you need to go into your browser’s settings and search for cookies associated with the specific domain, then proceed to delete them.
Cookie settings for popular browsers:
Here is how to access a specific cookie in Chrome. Note: these steps may vary depending on your browser version:
Chrome:
- Go to Settings or Preferences via the File menu or by clicking the customization icon (top-right corner).
- You will see different sections, click on Show advanced options.
- Go to Privacy, Content settings.
- Select All cookies and site data.
- A list will appear with all the cookies ordered by domain. To make it easier to find the cookies from a specific domain, enter the domain address in the Search cookies field.
- After applying the filter, you will see one or more lines with the cookies from the requested website. Now you just need to select it and click the X to proceed with deletion.
Internet Explorer:
- Go to Tools, then Internet Options.
- Click on Privacy and adjust the level of privacy you want.
Firefox:
- Go to Options or Preferences depending on your operating system.
- Click on Privacy.
- In History, choose Use custom settings for history.
- You will now see the Accept cookies option, which you can enable or disable according to your preferences.
Safari (OSX):
- Go to Preferences, then Privacy.
- You will see the option Block cookies to adjust the type of blocking you want.
Safari (iOS):
- Go to Settings, then Safari.
- Go to Privacy & Security, and you will see the Block cookies option to adjust the type of blocking you want.
Android:
- Open the browser, press the Menu key, then Settings.
- Go to Security & Privacy, and you will see the Accept cookies option to enable or disable the box.
Windows Phone:
- Open Internet Explorer, then More, then Settings.
- You can now check or uncheck the Allow cookies box.
