What are cookies and how can you protect your privacy from them ?

 What are cookies?

Cookies are text files that websites use to identify your computer and store information about websites you have visited so that you can receive material more quickly.

In addition, cookies save information such as your login information and password so that you do not have to enter them again each time you log in to a website.

History of cookies

Cookies were created in 1994 to help deal with the huge number of online retailers at the time. Today, information such as your shopping cart information is stored in your web browser rather than in the store's database, so the merchandise you previously added to your cart will be saved when you move away from the website you previously visited.

Popular types of cookies

In general, cookies are safe to use and free from dangerous codes. You will see in many of them, the most important of them are as follows:

Session cookies are temporary files that are removed when you close your browser or your session ends. Without monitoring your browser activities, they help you navigate the website.

Persistent cookies: These cookies are used to authenticate websites and are also used by many online retailers as part of their remarketing strategies to display relevant ads or suggest products from their stores. In addition, persistent cookies are kept on your computer until they expire or you clear them.

Secure cookies: Because they are usually written in programming languages ​​such as JavaScript, secure cookies cannot be accessed by malware.

Third-party cookies: Even if you don't click on any of the ads, websites that contain ads may still set third-party cookies that give other parties access to your computer. Advertisers can use these cookies to keep track of your browsing history. This type of cookie is troubling because it tracks and holds data without your awareness or consent.

Why do companies use cookies?

Among the primary motives for the use of cookies are:

Enhance the user experience while on the premises by identifying users and remembering login details and their preferences.

Increase sales by tracking previously viewed items, buying preferences, engagement, and site behavior, and customizing and targeting ads based on browsing history.

cookie pitfalls

Some cookies may be required for the website to function properly, but most are used for marketing, statistics, and data collection purposes, including tracking user behavior and search history.

Third parties, including media platforms, social networks, technology companies, and brokers, frequently receive and access data. Therefore cookies pose some risks to your company even if they help your site to operate and provide you with information about its performance and its conversions. The most prominent of these risks are:

Privacy violation: For the majority of internet users, privacy is their top priority. As a result, when it comes to cookies on the Internet, major search engines and other advertising systems track users and use this information to serve ads, which, of course, many users feel is a blatant violation of privacy.

Use of Fraudulent Cookies: Cookies may be used to misrepresent the identity of authorized users or to use that identity for nefarious purposes.

To guard against this risk, keep your browser updated to prevent fraud, as many cookie schemes are created to exploit security flaws in older browsers. Additionally, it is essential to stay away from suspicious websites and pay attention if your browser alerts you that a website may be malicious.

How are cookies disabled?

Pop-ups usually tell you that the page you're on is using cookies to improve your experience. However, you may have stopped reading at this point and clicked the accept button, giving the website exactly what it meant, i.e. your consent to the tracking.

There are ways to decline cookies and stop those pop-ups from appearing.

-     You can use a browser that disables cookies by default. All cookies can be allowed or blocked. There is a Global Privacy Control that automatically instructs websites not to sell or disclose user data, even though not all browsers, especially Chrome and Safari, support it. In addition, you can accept cookies from a particular website while rejecting third-party cookies in their advertisements or image files.

-   Third-party services may be used to manage cookies on your behalf. There are privacy-focused web technology companies that produce apps with the extension installed to start blocking pop-ups and automatically rejecting cookies.