More Information About Cookies

What is a cookie?

A cookie is a harmless text file stored in your browser when you visit almost any website. Its purpose is to let the website remember your visit when you browse that page again. Although many people don’t know it, cookies have been used for 20 years, since the first browsers for the World Wide Web appeared.

What is NOT a cookie?

It is not a virus, a Trojan, a worm, spam or spyware, and it doesn’t open pop-up windows.

What information does a cookie store?

Cookies don’t usually store sensitive information about you, such as credit cards or bank details, photos, your ID or personal information, etc. The data they store is technical, personal preferences, content customization, etc. The web server doesn’t associate you as a person, but your web browser. In fact, if you usually browse with Internet Explorer and try browsing the same website with Firefox or Chrome, you’ll see the website doesn’t realize you’re the same person, because it’s actually associating the browser, not the person.

What types of cookies are there?

• Technical cookies: the most basic ones. Among other things, they let a site know when a human or an automated application is browsing, or when an anonymous or a registered user is browsing — basic tasks for any dynamic website to work.
• Analytics cookies: they collect information about how you browse, the sections you use most, products viewed, time of use, language, etc.
• Advertising cookies: they show ads based on your browsing, your country, language, etc.

What are first-party and third-party cookies?

First-party cookies are generated by the page you are visiting, and third-party cookies are generated by external services or providers such as Facebook, Twitter, Google, etc.

What happens if I disable cookies?

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

• You won’t be able to share content from that website on Facebook, Twitter or any other social network.
• The website won’t be able to adapt its content to your personal preferences, as often happens in online stores.
• You won’t be able to access that website’s personal area, such as My account, My profile or My orders.
• Online stores: you won’t be able to shop online; purchases would have to be made by phone or by visiting the physical store, if there is one.
• You won’t be able to customize geographic preferences such as time zone, currency or language.
• The website won’t be able to analyze visitors and traffic, which will make it harder for the site to be competitive.
• You won’t be able to write on the blog, upload photos, post comments, or rate content. The website also won’t be able to tell whether you’re a human or an automated application posting spam.
• Targeted advertising can’t 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 deleted, but also blocked, either in general or for a specific domain. To delete a website’s cookies, go to your browser settings, where you can search for those associated with the domain in question and delete them.

Cookie settings for the most popular browsers

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

1. Go to Settings or Preferences from the File menu, or by clicking the customization icon at the top right.
2. You’ll see different sections; click Show advanced settings.
3. Go to Privacy, Content settings.
4. Select All cookies and site data.
5. A list of all cookies sorted by domain will appear. To find a specific domain’s cookies more easily, type part or all of the address in the Search cookies field.
6. After filtering, one or more lines with the cookies of the requested website will appear. Just select it and click the X to delete it.

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

1. Go to Tools, Internet Options
2. Click Privacy.
3. Move the slider to set the privacy level you want.

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

1. Go to Options or Preferences, depending on your operating system.
2. Click Privacy.
3. Under History, choose Use custom settings for history.
4. You’ll now see the Accept cookies option, which you can turn on or off as you prefer.

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

1. Go to Preferences, then Privacy.
2. There you’ll see the Block cookies option to choose the type of blocking you want.

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

1. Go to Settings, then Safari.
2. Go to Privacy & Security, where you’ll see the Block cookies option to choose the type of blocking you want.

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

1. Open the browser and tap the Menu key, then Settings.
2. Go to Security and Privacy, where you’ll see the Accept cookies checkbox to turn it on or off.

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

1. Open Internet Explorer, then More, then Settings
2. You can now check or uncheck the Allow cookies box.