When you visit a website, it deposits on your computer, smartphone or any other device from which you are connected, what are called cookies, which can be likened to trackers. While some cookies are not bothersome and may be essential to a good experience in your web browser, others pose more problems.
Since the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into force in 2018, websites are obliged to ask visitors for their consent before storing cookies on their machines. These banners by which users are asked to accept or configure cookies that they refuse can be annoying, and the simplest solution is often to click or press the button “Accept all cookies” to get rid of it quickly. But are you in danger by doing so? Should we reject all cookies? We explain how they work and detail the different types of cookies to answer these questions.
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What is a cookie?
Cookies are small text files stored on your device in your web browser folder. They are used by website publishers to remember your information and track your behavior on their pages. They can be used to improve the user experience, to understand how Internet users navigate the site in order to improve it, or for targeted advertising purposes.
There are two types of cookies:
- First-party cookies store essential information about you and your device to give you access to site content in an optimized manner, remember your credentials in order to log into your account more quickly, know which items have previously been added to the cart on a commercial site…
- Third-party cookies, which are developed by specialized companies and implemented on the sites. They store information about the advertisements you viewed, the websites you visited, the time you spent on each site, in order to define your advertising profile, based on your interests. This type of cookie can also track your entire browsing journey from A to Z, as well as store information about your accounts, interactions and activities on social networks.
First-party cookies are often essential to the functioning of a website and the provision of certain functionalities. Third-party cookies, on the other hand, generally aim to track you. The collection of your data is used to display personalized recommendations and advertisements, or even for resale to other networks. It is especially them that we must be wary of.
Which cookies to accept or refuse?
It is possible to configure each cookie individually for each site. This takes time, but you ensure that you maintain an optimal browsing experience while protecting your personal data. But how do you know which cookies to accept and which to refuse? Here is what we recommend.
You can accept:
- Essential cookies, which allow the website to function correctly: navigation in menus, display of images and videos, items placed in the basket, access to certain content, etc. They do not collect personal information in most cases.
- Preference cookies are also very useful for a site to remember your choices, particularly regarding interface: font size, dark mode, language, etc.
- Performance cookies are not directly useful to you, but are considered acceptable. They provide the sites you visit with anonymized information about how you browse them to identify possible problems and understand what is working well and what is not, giving the opportunity to make improvements.
- Functional cookies enable the proper functioning of a number of enriched elements on web pages, such as interactive content, embedded videos, sharing on social networks or buttons hiding functionalities. They may sometimes collect personal data, but that is not sensitive and does not pose real privacy concerns.
- Security cookies ensure that data is exchanged securely. They act as safeguards against malicious, fraudulent, invalid or illegal activity. No reason to do without it, therefore.
On the contrary, it is recommended to refuse:
- Third-party cookies in general, which do not affect the operation or security of a website. They commonly have only one goal: to track your activity in order to monetize your private data, through advertising or by selling this information to another company.
- Advertising cookies are those that you absolutely do not want to accept. Their goal is to collect as much information as possible about you to provide you with targeted advertisements based on your browsing behavior and your interests. They are present on many sites and cross-reference data to establish your precise profile. They pose a serious threat to your privacy.
- All cookies from a website that is not secure. If it does not use the HTTPS protocol, your data such as passwords or payment methods may be accessible in clear text on the site’s servers. Better not to allow any cookies in this case, and even leave the page immediately without providing any information.
Go further against online tracking
There are tools that will help you protect your privacy. First, any good web browser has an option to delete previously accepted cookies. If you think you’ve let websites drop third-party and advertising cookies on your device, you can use this feature. On Chrome, you can systematically block third-party cookies in private browsing mode or in standard browsing.
More advanced dedicated solutions allow better control of your data. This is for example the case of Bitdefender Anti-Tracker, a lightweight and efficient browser extension designed to hide your activity from trackers, increase your online privacy and reduce the time it takes for websites to load. It is included in the Bitdefender Total Security product, which also includes antivirus, VPN and many features to protect against online threats and tracking.
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Bitdefender Total Security is available on Windows, macOS, Android and iOS and allows you to protect up to ten devices of your choice.
This article is a publication sponsored by Bitdefender.