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 for the website to be able to remember your visit when you return to that page. Although many people do not know it, cookies have been used for 20 years, when the first browsers for the World Wide Web appeared.
What is NOT a cookie?
It is not a virus, a Trojan horse, a worm, spam, spyware or pop-up windows.
What information does a cookie store?
Cookies do not usually store sensitive information about you, such as credit card or bank details, photographs, your ID or personal information, etc. The data they do store is of a technical nature, personal preferences, personalisation of content, etc.
The web server does not associate you as a person but your web browser. In fact, if you usually browse with Internet Explorer and try browsing the same website with Firefox or Chrome you will see that the web does not realise that you are the same person because it is actually associating the browser, not the person.
What types of cookies are there?
- Technical cookies: These are the most basic and allow, among other things, to know when a human or an automated application is browsing, when an anonymous user and a registered user are browsing, basic tasks for the operation of any dynamic website.
- Analysis cookies: These collect information on the type of browsing being carried out, the sections most used, products consulted, time of day, language, etc.
- Advertising cookies: These show advertising depending on your browsing, your country of origin, language, etc.
What are first-party and third-party cookies?
First-party cookies are those generated by the page you are visiting and third-party cookies are those generated by external services or providers such as Facebook, Twitter, Google, etc.
What happens if I disable cookies?
To help you understand the scope that disabling cookies can have, here are some examples:
- You will not be able to share content from this website on Facebook, Twitter or any other social network.
- The website will not be able to adapt the content to your personal preferences, as is often the case with online shops.
- You will not be able to access the personal area of that website, such as My account, My profile or My orders.
- Online shops: You will not be able to make purchases online, you will have to make them over the phone or by visiting the physical shop if you have one.
- It will not be possible to customise your geographical preferences such as time zone, currency or language.
- The website will not be able to perform web analytics on visitors and web traffic, which will make it difficult for the website to be competitive.
- You will not be able to write on the blog, upload photos, post comments, rate or rate content. The website will not be able to know whether you are a human or an automated application that publishes spam.
- You will not be able to display targeted advertising, 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 I delete cookies?
Yes, not only delete them, but also block them, either generally or for a specific domain.
To delete cookies from a website you must go to your browser settings and there you can search for those associated with the domain in question and delete them.
Configuration of cookies for the most popular browsers
Below we show you how to access a specific cookie in each browser.
Note: these steps may vary depending on the browser version:
Chrome
- Go to Settings or Preferences via the File menu or by clicking on the customisation icon at the top right.
- You will see different sections, click on the option Show advanced options.
- Go to Privacy, Content Settings.
- Select All cookies and site data.
- You will see a list of all cookies sorted by domain. To make it easier for you to find the cookies for a particular domain, enter part or all of the address in the Find cookies field.
- After making this filter, one or more lines with the cookies of the requested website will appear on the screen. Now all you have to do is select it and press X to delete it.
Internet Explorer
- Go to Tools, Internet Options
- Click on Privacy.
- Move the slider to set the desired privacy level.
Firefox
- Go to Options or Preferences depending on your operating system.
- Click on Privacy.
- Under History choose Use custom settings for history.
- You will now see the option Accept cookies, you can activate or deactivate it according to your preferences.
Safari for OSX
- Go to Preferences, then Privacy.
- Here you will see the option Block cookies for you to set the type of blocking you want to do.
Safari for iOS
- Go to Settings, then Safari.
- Go to Privacy and Security, you will see the option Block cookies for you to adjust the type of blocking you want to do.
Android
- Launch the navigator and press the Menu key, then Settings.
- Go to Security and Privacy, you will see the Accept cookies option to check or uncheck the box.
Windows Phone
- Open Internet Explorer, then More, then Settings
- You can now check or uncheck the Allow cookies box.
