What is a Cookie?

A cookie is a harmless text file that is stored in your browser when you visit almost any website. The purpose of the cookie is to allow the website to remember your visit when you navigate back to that page. Although many people may not realize it, cookies have been in use for over 20 years, dating back to the first browsers for the World Wide Web.

What Is NOT a Cookie?

It is not a virus, Trojan, worm, spam, spyware, or a pop-up window.

What Information Does a Cookie Store?

Cookies typically do not store sensitive information about you, such as credit card numbers or bank details, photographs, your ID, or personal information. The data they keep is usually technical in nature, personal preferences, content personalization, etc.

The web server does not associate you as a person but rather with your web browser. In fact, if you usually browse with Internet Explorer and then try to access the same website with Firefox or Chrome, the website will not recognize you as the same person because it is actually associating with the browser, not the individual.

What Types of Cookies Exist?

1. **Technical Cookies:** These are the most basic and allow, among other things, to know when a human is browsing versus an automated application, whether an anonymous or registered user is browsing, and perform basic tasks necessary for the functioning of any dynamic website.

2. **Analytical Cookies:** These collect information about the type of browsing you are doing, the sections you use the most, products consulted, usage time, language, etc.

3. **Advertising Cookies:** These show advertisements based on your browsing behavior, country of origin, language, etc.

What Are First-Party and Third-Party Cookies?

– **First-Party Cookies:** These are generated by the website you are visiting.
– **Third-Party Cookies:** These are generated by external services or providers such as Facebook, Twitter, Google, etc.

What Happens If I Disable Cookies?

To understand the impact of disabling cookies, 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 content to your personal preferences, as is often done in online stores.
– You will not be able to access personal areas of that website, such as My Account, My Profile, or My Orders.
– In online stores, you will not be able to make purchases online; these would have to be made by phone or by visiting a physical store if available.
– Personalization of geographical preferences, such as time zone, currency, or language, will not be possible.
– The website will not be able to conduct web analytics on visitors and traffic, making it harder for the website to be competitive.
– You will not be able to write on the blog, upload photos, post comments, rate or score content. The website will also not be able to determine if you are a human or an automated application posting spam.
– Targeted advertising cannot be displayed, which will reduce the website’s advertising revenue.
– All social networks use cookies; if you disable them, you will not be able to use any social network.

Can Cookies Be Deleted?

Yes. You can not only delete cookies but also block them, either generally or specifically for a particular domain.

To delete cookies from a website, you must go to your browser settings, where you can find those associated with the specific domain and proceed to delete them.

Cookie Settings for Popular Browsers

Here’s how to access a specific cookie in the Chrome browser. Note: these steps may vary based on the browser version:

1. Go to Settings or Preferences via the File menu or by clicking the customization icon in the upper right corner.
2. You will see different sections; click on “Show advanced options.”
3. Go to Privacy, then Content Settings.
4. Select “All cookies and site data.”
5. A list will appear with all cookies organized by domain. To easily find cookies for a specific domain, enter part or all of the address in the “Search cookies” field.
6. After filtering, one or more lines with cookies from the requested website will appear on the screen. Now you just have to select it and click the X to proceed with deletion.

To access the cookie settings in the Internet Explorer browser, follow these steps (they may vary based on the browser version):

1. Go to Tools, then Internet Options.
2. Click on Privacy.
3. Move the slider to adjust the desired privacy level.

To access the cookie settings in the Firefox browser, follow these steps (they may vary based on the browser version):

1. Go to Options or Preferences depending on your operating system.
2. Click on Privacy.
3. In History, choose “Use custom settings for history.”
4. Now you will see the option “Accept cookies,” which you can enable or disable according to your preferences.

To access the cookie settings in the Safari browser for OSX, follow these steps (they may vary based on the browser version):

1. Go to Preferences, then Privacy.
2. Here you will see the option to Block cookies, allowing you to adjust the type of blocking you wish to implement.

To access the cookie settings in the Safari browser for iOS, follow these steps (they may vary based on the browser version):

1. Go to Settings, then Safari.
2. Go to Privacy and Security; you will see the option to Block cookies, allowing you to adjust the type of blocking you wish to implement.

To access the cookie settings in the browser for Android devices, follow these steps (they may vary based on the browser version):

1. Open the browser and press the Menu button, then Settings.
2. Go to Security and Privacy; you will see the option “Accept cookies” to enable or disable the checkbox.

To access the cookie settings in the browser for Windows Phone devices, follow these steps (they may vary based on the browser version):

1. Open Internet Explorer, then More, then Settings.
2. Now you can enable or disable the “Allow cookies” checkbox.

*Cookie Advisor is a plugin for WordPress.*