What are cookies? | Definition of cookies
An HTTP cookie stores information in the user’s web browser. Web servers create cookies and send them to browsers, which then include those cookies in future HTTP requests.
What are cookies on websites?
Cookies are small pieces of information created by a web server and sent to a web browser. Web browsers store the cookies they receive for a predetermined period of time, or for the duration of the user’s session on a website. They attach the relevant cookies to any future requests the user makes to the web server.
Therefore
Cookies help inform websites about the user, which enables sites to personalize the user experience. For example, e-commerce websites use cookies to know what merchandise users have placed in their shopping carts. In addition, some cookies are essential for security purposes, such as authentication cookies (see below).
Cookies used on the internet are also called “HTTP cookies”. Like much of the web, cookies are sent using the HTTP protocol.
Where are cookies stored?
Web browsers store cookies in a dedicated file on the users’ devices. The Google Chrome web browser, for example, stores all cookies in a file called “Cookies”. Chrome users can view the cookies stored by the browser by opening Developer Tools and clicking on the “Application” tab, then clicking “Cookies” in the left-hand sidebar.
What are cookies used for?
User sessions: Cookies help link website activity to a specific user. A session cookie contains a unique string (a combination of letters and numbers) that matches a user’s session with the relevant data and content for that user.
Suppose Alice has an account on a shopping website. She logs into her account from the site’s home page. When she logs in, the website’s server creates a session cookie and sends it to Alice’s browser. The cookie tells this website to load Alice’s account content, so the home page now reads, “Hello, Alice.”
And here:
Alice then clicks on a product page displaying a pair of jeans. When Alice’s web browser sends an HTTP request to the website for the jeans product page, it includes Alice’s session cookie with the request. Because the website has this cookie, it recognizes the user as Alice, and she does not have to log in again when the new page loads.
Personalization: Cookies help a website “remember” user actions or user preferences, which enables the website to personalize the user experience.
If Alice logs out of the e-commerce website, her username can be stored in a cookie and sent to her web browser. The next time she loads this website, the web browser sends that cookie to the web server, which then asks Alice to log in using the username she used last time.
Tracking: Some cookies record what websites users visit. This information is sent to the server that created the cookie the next time the browser needs to load content from that server. With third-party tracking cookies, this process occurs any time the browser loads a website that uses that tracking service.
If Alice previously visited a website that sent a tracking cookie to her browser, that cookie may record that Alice is now viewing a jeans product page. The next time Alice loads a website that uses this tracking service, she may see advertisements for jeans.
However, advertising is not the only use of tracking cookies. Many analytics services also use tracking cookies to anonymously record user activity. (Web Analytics is one of the few services that does not use cookies to provide analytics, which helps protect user privacy.)
What are the different types of cookies?
Some of the most important types of cookies to know about include the following:
Session cookies
A session cookie helps a website track a user’s session. Session cookies are deleted after the user’s session ends – once they log out of their account on the website or leave the site. Session cookies have no expiration date, which indicates they should be deleted once the session ends.
Persistent cookies
Unlike session cookies, persistent cookies remain in the user’s browser for a predetermined period of time, which could be a day, a week, several months, or even years. Persistent cookies always contain an expiration date.
Authentication cookies
Authentication cookies help manage user sessions; they are created when a user logs into an account via their browser. They ensure that sensitive information is delivered to the correct user sessions by linking the user’s account information to a cookie identifier string.
Tracking cookies
Tracking cookies are created by tracking services. They record user activity, and browsers send this record to the associated tracking service the next time they load a website that uses that tracking service.
Zombie cookies
Like the “zombie” in popular fiction, zombie cookies regenerate after being deleted. Zombie cookies create backups of themselves outside the browser’s typical cookie storage location. They use these backups to reappear inside the browser after being deleted. Zombie cookies are sometimes used by unscrupulous advertising networks, and even by online attackers.
What is a third-party cookie?
A third-party cookie is a cookie that belongs to a domain other than the one displayed in the browser. Third-party cookies are often used for tracking purposes. They contrast with first-party cookies, which are associated with the same domain that appears in the user’s browser.
When Alice shops on jeans.example.com, the origin server of jeans.example.com uses a session cookie to remember that she has logged into her account. This is an example of a first-party cookie. However, Alice may not realize that a cookie from example.ad-network.com is also stored in her browser and is tracking her activity on jeans.example.com, even though she is not currently accessing example.ad-network.com. This is an example of a third-party cookie.
How do cookies affect user privacy?
As described above, cookies can be used to record browsing activity, including for advertising purposes. However, many users do not want their online behavior tracked. Users also lack visibility into or control over what tracking services do with the data they collect.
Even when cookie-based tracking is not linked to a specific username or device, with some types of tracking it may still be possible to connect a user’s browsing activity history to their real identity. This information can be used in any number of ways, from unwanted advertising to monitoring, stalking, or harassing users. (This is not the case with all uses of cookies.)
Also:
Some privacy laws, such as the European Union ePrivacy Directive, address the use and control of cookies. Under this directive, users must provide “informed consent” – they must be notified of how the website uses cookies and agree to that use – before the website can use cookies. (Cookies that are “strictly necessary” for the website to function are exempt.) The EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) considers cookie identifiers to be personal data, so its rules apply to the use of cookies in the EU as well. Also, any personal data collected by cookies falls under the jurisdiction of the GDPR.
Largely because of these laws, many websites now display cookie banners that allow users to review and control the cookies those sites use.
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