Cookies Vanilla or Chocolate? How about vanilla with chocolate chips? If you ask us, surely, we can’t resist any of those! As much as we want to keep telling you about delicious cookies, it’s time to discover what online “Cookies” are. In this article, you will find the most basic information about Cookies. In the company of the wonderful image we formed in our minds about cookies, we go to solve our questions about “Cookies” that … are not eaten.

What will we see in this post?

What are Cookies?

“Cookies” (also known as Internet Cookies or Magic Cookies) are small text files used by websites to collect information from Internet users. These files are created by the web pages and sent by the Web Server to the hard drive of the user’s device so that the necessary data can be retrieved at any time. Cookies are usually used to identify users.

How do Cookies work?

Cookies help websites to be more functional. They better manage the
information they need so that cookies can perform all their functions and provide users with a more personalized, more “personal” experience, commensurate with their interests and preferences.

More specifically, when you open a webpage, a text will appear on your screen asking you to accept or refuse the use of cookies on your device. If you refuse to install cookies, the website may not be able to provide you with all its services adequately. If you agree, then you allow the website to collect information from you, in particular regarding your preferences, such as the language you chose to display the website, the login account, the IP, and the browser or the products you are interested in (here, if we are referring to a commercial, online, business). In addition, Cookies detect and record the individual clicks, and the order they have with each other, each time you visit the Internet.

New York Times banner asking for consent to use cookies — An example from New York Times

In summary, Cookies create a “profile” of your browsing history. The first time you access a webpage, a unique identifier file is assigned and stored on your hard disk. From then on, all information about you will be entered there.

When are Cookies used?

Cookies are used whenever your consent is given to store information about your browsing. Files cannot be saved without your explicit positive response.

Under no circumstances is personal, sensitive information collected. Transferring your data to third parties is only done after you approve this action. Finally, this information is used exclusively for the proper functioning of any website and the best possible experience for users. They are not used for any other reason. To find out more about how your personal data is used, you can read our article about data processing.

What are the types of Cookies?

There are many types of Cookies. Each website chooses which of these files to use, which is also disclosed in its Cookie Policy.

We’ve put together the most common ones for you:

“Necessary Cookies”: These are the only cookies that do not require the user’s consent to be installed on the device’s hard drive. It is necessary to access and connect to the website and to provide all the planned services of the website.
“Functionality Cookies”: They help the website providers make the content more personal and adapt it to each user’s preferences and choices.
“Performance Cookies”: They contribute to the better functioning of a website by collecting information on how users use the website, for example, if there is something that is not functional or does not satisfy them.
“Zombie Cookies”: Their role is to classify users’ personal information when conducting online transactions and purchases.
“Session Cookies”: They remember the choices of the users of each website and transfer them from subpage to subpage.
“Flash Cookies”: They help identify the user’s browser. They are typically used on websites that contain videos and ads.
“Tracking Cookies”: They allow ads to be more targeted since they collect information from the user’s profile.
“Third-party cookies”: They are created by third-party websites that want to place their own content on the website you are visiting, such as ads or images. You can learn more about them in this Cookieyes post.

If you’re wondering which type of cookies personalises ads, read our article on Advertising Cookies.

Cookies vs Web Beacons

Web beacons are not files that are installed on the device. It is a way, a technique as it is called, used by websites to know if a user has access to the content of a webpage. Usually, it is contained in an email or is an embedded image in the Web Browser. Essentially, they record who and how many viewed these emails, when they were viewed, etc. The collection of data by web beacons is, objectively, more limited than that of Cookies. If you want to learn about other monitoring technologies, check out our article “Data Tracking Technologies”.