Cookies: what you should know about them
Most of us have probably come across a notice on websites saying the site uses cookies. The site then asks for your consent to store cookies in your browser’s memory. But do you know what they are and what this notice is really asking of you?
A cookie – what is it?
A cookie is a small file that is sent to your computer or smartphone when you visit a particular website. Every cookie has a unique identification number, which is passed from the website to your device’s hard drive. This is how a website recognises the device used to connect.
Faster searching
Using cookies makes browsing websites much easier. Once a site recognises a user, it identifies which products or content that user was interested in. As a result, similar options are suggested and ones that don’t match their needs are filtered out. In other words, cookies help establish user behaviour, which in turn helps deliver personalised offers. This encourages direct product recommendations.
Cookies are also often used to analyse a website’s technical structure and content. What’s more, cookies often store information about how visitors use a particular feature (for example, which language a user selects on a page, or what content they share on social networks). This helps personalise a website and make it more appealing to the user.
Anonymity identified
On the other hand, cookies pose a real risk to privacy and anonymity. Used for bad purposes, they can reveal not only users’ needs but also their browsing habits, or even the personal information a user enters on a page. On top of that, cookies are often installed on a device without the user knowing.
Under the Law on Electronic Communications, only technical storage may be carried out without the user’s consent. That said, personal data collected in cookies may only be used when a user, while browsing online, indicates that they allow the site to remember their personal data.
It’s worth noting that most browsers accept cookies automatically. For this reason, if users want to opt out of cookies, they have to change their browser settings themselves.
A limited period of use
The Law on Electronic Communications points out that a user’s consent to the use of cookies should be valid for a certain limited period – for example, one year. Website administrators must ensure that, once the set period expires, the cookies the user agreed to are removed. If there’s a need to keep using cookies, a new consent must be obtained from the user.
