A cookie is a harmless text file that is stored in your browser when you visit almost any web page. The usefulness of the cookie is that the web is able to remember your visit when you return to browse 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, Trojan, worm, spam, spyware, or pop-up window opener.

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 store is of a technical nature, personal preferences, content personalization, 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 web with Firefox or Chrome you will see that the web does not realize 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 elementary 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 web.
• Analysis Cookies: Collect information on the type of navigation you are doing, the sections you use most, products consulted, time of use, language, etc..
• Advertising Cookies: They show advertising based 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 extent to which you can disable cookies, here are some examples:

• You may not share content from that website on Facebook, Twitter or any other social network.
• The website will not be able to adapt the contents to your personal preferences.
• It will not be possible to customize your geographic 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 web will also not be able to tell whether you are a human or an automated application posting spam.
• It will not be possible to display sectorized advertising, which will reduce the advertising revenue of the site.
• All social networks use cookies, if you disable them you will not be able to use any social network.

Can cookies be deleted?

Yes. Not only deleting, but also blocking, in general 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.

Due to the continuous changes that different browsers undergo, we suggest that you consult the web site for the process to adjust the configuration of your browser cookies to your preferences.

Cookie Advisor is a WordPress plugin created by Carlos Doral (webartesanal.com)