What are cookies?

Cookies are usually small text files that are stored on your computer’s browser directory when you visit a website for the first time. Cookies are necessary for the website to be able to identify the user’s computer on his next visit. What is not widely known to the public is that cookies have been used for 20 years now, when the first browsers for the World Wide Web appeared.

What cookies ARE NOT?

They do not open pop-up Windows. They are not viruses, Trojans or worms. They are not spam neither spywares.

What information does a cookie store?

Cookies do not usually store sensitive information about you such as credit card or bank account information, photos, your ID or personal information, etc. Data stored is technical, personal preferences, customization of contents, etc.

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

What kind of cookies are there?

  • Technical cookies: They are the most basic ones and allow you, among other things, to know when there is a human being surfing or an automated application, when the surfer is an anonymous user o a registered one. They carry out basic tasks for the running of any dynamic website.
  • Analysis cookies: Identify the kind of web navigation that the visitor is using, the most visited sections, the favorite products, time slot, language, etc.
  • Advertising cookies: They show publicity according to the web navigation, the visitor’s country, language, etc.

What are first-party and third-party cookies?

A first-party cookie is a cookie from a website that a user has visited. A third-party cookie is the one placed in your web browser by external trusted partners of the websites you visit as Facebook, Twitter, Google, etc.

What happens if I disable the cookies?

To make sure you fully understand what disabling cookies involve, have a look at these examples:

  • You will not be able to share web contents on Facebook, Twitter or any other social network.
  • The website will not be able to adapt the contents according to your preferences, as is the case in online shops.
  • You will not be able to log in your personal area on the website, such as for example My account, My profile or My orders.
  • Online shops: You will not be able to buy online. You will have to purchase by phone or go to the physical store, if available.
  • It will not be possible to customize your geographical preferences, time slots, currency and language.
  • The web site will not perform web analytics on visitors and web traffic, making it difficult to be competitive.
  • You will not be able to post on the blog, upload pictures, publish comments, assess and rate contents. The web will as well ignore if you are a human being or an automated application that publishes spam.
  • No advertisements may be shown, divided into sectors. This will reduce the advertising revenues of the website.
  • All social networks use cookies, if you disable them, you will not be able to use any of the social networks.

 Can cookies be deleted?

Yes, they can. Not only deleted, but they can also be blocked in general or particularly for a specific domain.

To disable the cookies in a website, go to the settings in your browser where you can find the cookies that are associated with that domain and then delete them.

Settings for the most popular browsers

How to access a specific cookie in Google Chrome: Note: These steps may vary depending on the browser version you have:

  1. Select settings or preferences via file menu or by clicking “personalize” icon shown above on the right.
  2. Under the different sections, click “advanced options”
  3. Under Privacy click Content settings
  4. Click All cookies and site data
  5. A list with all the cookies ordered by domains will appear. To find any cookies easily on a specific domain partially or fully enter the address in the search bar
  6. Through this filter one or several lines with the cookies from the requested website will appear. Select them and click “X” to delete them.

To access the cookies settings in Internet Explorer follow these steps (they may vary depending on the browser version you have):

  1. Select Tools, Internet Options
  2. Click Privacy
  3. Use the slider to adjust the level of privacy you choose.

To access the cookies settings in Firefox follow these steps (they may vary depending on the browser version you have):

  1. Select Options or Preferences depending on the operating system.
  2. Click Privacy
  3. Under History, select use custom settings for history
  4. Under accept cookies you now may enable or disable this option according to your preferences.

To access the cookies settings in Safari for OSX follow these steps (they may vary depending on the browser version you have):

  1. Select Preferences, then Privacy
  2. Here you will see the option Block cookies where you can choose the kind of blocking you wish to use.

To access the cookies settings in Safari for iOS follow these steps (they may vary depending on the browser version you have):

  1. Select settings, then Safari
  2. Select Privacy and Security. Under the option Block cookies choose the kind of blocking you wish to use.

To access the cookies settings in Android devices follow these steps (they may vary depending on the browser version you have):

  1. Run the browser and press Menu, then Settings
  2. Select Security and Privacy. Under the option Accept cookies check or uncheck the box.

To access the cookies settings in Windows Phone devices follow these steps (they may vary depending on the browser version you have):

  1. Run Internet Explorer, select More, then Settings
  2. Now you can check or uncheck the box Allow cookies on my phone