More information about cookies

 
What is a cookie?
 

A cookie is a harmless text file that is stored on your browser when you visit almost any web page. The usefulness of the cookie lies in the fact that the web page is able to remember your visit when you return to browse that page. Although many people do not realize it, cookies have been used for 20 years, since the first browsers for the World Wide Web appeared.

 
What is a cookie NOT?
 

It’s not a virus, a Trojan, a worm, spam or spyware, and nor does it open pop-up windows.

 
What information does a cookie store?
 

Cookies do not usually store sensitive information about you, such as credit cards or bank details, photographs, your ID or personal information, etc. The data they store are of a technical nature, personal preferences, personalization of contents, etc.

The web server does not associate the file with you as a person, but rather with your web browser. In fact, if you regularly browse a website using Internet Explorer and you try to browse the same website with Firefox or Chrome, you will see that the website does not realize that you are the same person, since it is associated with the browser, not the person.

 
What types of cookies exist?
 

• Technical cookies: These are the most basic, and enable the website to know (among other things) whether it is a human or an automated application browsing, and when it is an anonymous user or a registered one browsing, which are basic tasks for the operation of any dynamic website.
• Analytical cookies: These collect information about the type of browsing you are doing, the sections you use the most, products consulted, time zone of use, language, and so on.
• Advertising cookies: These display advertising based on your browsing, country of origin, language, etc.

 
What are first-party and third-party cookies?
 

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

 
What happens if I turn off cookies?
 

To help you understand the extent to which you may be able to disable cookies, here are a few examples:

• You will not be able to share content from that website on Facebook, Twitter or any other social network.
• The website will not be able to adapt the content to your personal preferences, as is often the case in online stores.
• You will not be able to access the personal area of that website, such as My Account, or My Profile or My Orders.
• Online stores: You will be unable to make purchases online. Instead, you will have to submit them by telephone or by visiting the physical store if you have access to it.
• It will not be possible to customize your geographic preferences such as time zone, currency, or language.
• The website will not be able to perform web analytics on visitors and traffic to the website, which will make it difficult for the website to be competitive.
• You will not be able to write on the blog, and you will not be able to upload photos, publish comments, or rate contents. The website will not be able to tell whether you are a human or an automated application that publishes spam.
• It will not be possible to show sectorized advertising, which will reduce the advertising income of the website.
• All social networks use cookies; if you disable them you will not be able to use any social network.

 
Can I delete cookies?
 

Yes. Not only can you delete them, but you can also block them, either generally or specifically for a particular domain.

To delete cookies from a website you must go to your browser settings. There, you can search for those associated with the domain in question and proceed to delete them.

 
Configuring cookies for the most popular browsers
 

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

1. Go to Settings or Preferences via the File menu or by clicking the customization icon that appears at the top right.
2. You will see different sections. Click the option Show advanced options.
3. Go to Privacy, Content settings.
4. Click All cookies and site data.
5. A list will appear with all cookies sorted by domain. To make it easier for you to find the cookies for a particular domain, enter part or all of the address in the Search for cookies field.
6. After carrying out this search, one or more lines with the cookies of the requested website will appear on the screen. Now all you have to do is select the cookie and click on the X to delete it.

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

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

 
To access your Firefox browser’s cookie settings follow these steps (they may vary depending on your browser’s version):

1. Go to Options or Preferences according to your operating system.
2. Click on Privacy.
3. Under History, choose Use custom settings for history.
4. You will now see the Accept cookies option, and you can enable or disable it according to your preferences.

 
To access your Safari browser’s cookie settings for OSX follow these steps (they may vary depending on your browser version):

1. Go to Preferences, then Privacy.
2. In this location you will see the option Block cookies, where you can set the type of block you want to make.

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

1. Go to Settings, then Safari.
2. Under Privacy and Security, you’ll see the Block cookies option to set the type of block you want to make.

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

1. Run the browser and press the Menu key, then Settings.
2. Go to Security and Privacy, and you’ll see the Accept cookies option to enable or disable the check box.

 
To access your browser’s cookie settings 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 enable or disable the Allow cookies check box.