What are Cookies?

 Cookies, also known as browser cookies or tracking cookies, are small, generally encrypted text files stored in the directory of your browser.

Publishers use them to aid in the navigation of websites on the Internet and the completion of specific activities. Completely deactivating cookies may prevent users from browsing some websites due to their primary function of improving usability or site functions.

When you return to a site, it may recognise you and keep you logged in, or it may display a favourite page. A cookie is frequently used to display material only once - a popup, pop-under, or any other advertisement that appears just the first time you visit the site and each time you visit the page. Change or re-enter your information.

When your browser loads a certain website, cookies are formed. The website provides data to the browser, which converts it into a text file. The browser retrieves and sends this file to the web server each time the user visits the same web page.

Cookies are created not only by the website that the user is visiting at the time, but also by other websites that run advertisements, widgets, or other page features. These cookies regulate how adverts appear on the page, as well as how widgets and other features function.

Browser Cookies - Standard Uses

When a user connects to a secure part of a website, cookies are used to assist authenticate the person. The user's login information or credentials are stored in a cookie so that they don't have to fill them in every time they visit the page.

Session Cookies

Web servers employ session cookies to save information about user page actions so that users may simply resume their browsing on the server's sites. A web page cannot remember where you were on a previous visit without employing session cookies; this can only be done using session cookies. Session Cookies tell the server which pages to show the user so he doesn't have to remember where he left off or re-enter the site. When used on a site like this, session cookies behave almost like "bookmarks."

Similarly, rather than expecting the user to remember all of the products entered into the shopping cart, cookies can save the ordering information needed to make the shopping cart work. This is particularly beneficial if your system's connectivity is disrupted or if your computer 'crashes' while filling a shopping basket.

Persistent / Tracking Cookies

Persistent cookies save information about a user's choices. Many websites allow users to precisely alter the way information is presented by using a site layout or theme. These customisation make it easier to browse the site and/or allow the user to leave a piece of their "personality" on it.

Cookie Security And Privacy Issues

Cookies are not the same as viruses. Cookies are stored as plain text. They haven't compiled any code, therefore they can't be run, and they aren't running themselves. As a result, they are unable to duplicate themselves and spread to other networks in order to re-execute and proliferate. They are not included in the traditional virus definition since they are unable to accomplish these duties.

Cookies, on the other hand, can be utilised for nefarious purposes. Cookies can be used as spyware since they save information about a user's browsing habits and history, both on a single site and across several sites.

Responsible and ethical web developers address privacy concerns raised by cookie tracking by providing a detailed statement of how cookies are used on their sites. The purpose of the Privacy Policy is to assist online web developers in producing clear and easy-to-understand information for web publishers to add to their websites.