What is a cookie?

A cookie is a harmless text file stored in your browser when you visit almost any website. The purpose of the cookie is for the website to remember your visit when you return to that page. Although many people are unaware of this, cookies have been used for over 20 years, since the first browsers for the World Wide Web were introduced.

What is NOT a cookie?

It is not a virus, Trojan, worm, spam, spyware, or pop-up window generator.

What information does a cookie store?

Cookies typically do not store sensitive information about you, such as credit card details, bank data, photos, your ID number, or personal information. The data they store is generally technical, including personal preferences, content customization, etc.

The web server does not associate you as an individual but with your web browser. In fact, if you usually browse with Internet Explorer and try browsing the same website with Firefox or Chrome, you will notice that the website does not recognize you as the same person because it is actually associating with the browser, not the individual.

What types of cookies exist?

Technical cookies: These are the most basic and allow, among other things, to determine whether a human or an automated application is browsing, whether the user is anonymous or registered, and other essential tasks for the functioning of any dynamic website.

Analytical cookies: These collect information about the type of browsing you are performing, the sections you use most, products viewed, usage time, language, etc.

Advertising cookies: These display advertisements based on your browsing habits, country of origin, language, etc.

What are first-party and third-party cookies?

First-party cookies are those generated by the website you are visiting, while third-party cookies are generated by external services or providers like Facebook, Google, etc.

What happens if I disable cookies?

To understand the impact of disabling cookies, here are some examples:

• You will not be able to share content from this website on Facebook or any other social network.
• The website will not be able to adapt content to your personal preferences, as is common in online stores.
• You will not be able to access the personal area of the website, such as my account, my profile, or my orders.
• Online stores: It will be impossible to make purchases online; you will need to do so by phone or by visiting the physical store if one is available.
• You will not be able to customize geographic preferences, such as time zone, currency, or language.
• The website will not be able to perform web analytics about visitors and traffic, which will make it harder for the site to be competitive.
• You will not be able to write on the blog, upload photos, post comments, rate or review content. The website also won’t be able to determine if you are a human or an automated application posting spam.
• Targeted advertising will not be shown, which will reduce the website’s advertising revenue.
• All social networks use cookies. If you disable them, you won’t be able to use any social network.

Can cookies be deleted?

Yes. Not only can they be deleted, but they can also be blocked, either generally or for a specific domain.

To delete cookies from a website, you need to go to your browser’s settings, where you can search for the cookies associated with the domain in question and proceed to delete them.

Cookie settings for popular browsers

Here’s how to access a specific cookie in the Chrome browser. Note: These steps may vary depending on the browser version:

1. Go to Settings or Preferences via the File menu or by clicking on the customization icon at the top right.
2. You will see different sections; click on the “Show advanced options” option.
3. Go to Privacy, then Content settings.
4. Select “All cookies and site data.”
5. A list will appear with all cookies sorted by domain.
6. To make it easier to find cookies for a specific domain, enter part or all of the address in the “Search cookies” field.
7. After applying the filter, one or more lines with cookies from the requested website will appear on the screen. Simply select them and press the X to delete them.

To access cookie settings in Internet Explorer, follow these steps (may vary depending on the browser version):

1. Go to Tools, then Internet Options. Click on Privacy and move the slider to adjust the privacy level you want.

To access cookie settings in Firefox, follow these steps (may vary depending on the browser version):

To access cookie settings in Safari for OSX, follow these steps (may vary depending on the browser version):

1. Go to Preferences, then Privacy. In this section, you will see the “Block cookies” option to adjust the type of blocking you wish to perform.

To access cookie settings in Safari for iOS, follow these steps (may vary depending on the browser version):

To access cookie settings in a browser for Android devices, follow these steps (may vary depending on the browser version):

1. Open the browser and press the Menu button, then Settings.
2. Go to Security and Privacy, and you will see the option to Accept cookies to enable or disable the checkbox.

To access cookie settings for browsers on Windows Phone devices, follow these steps (may vary depending on the browser version):

1. Open Internet Explorer, then More, then Settings.
2. Now you can enable or disable the “Allow cookies” checkbox.