This post is also available in:
Español (Spanish) 
Deutsch (German)
What is a cookie?
.
A cookie is a harmless text file that is stored in your browser when you visit almost any web page. The usefulness of the cookie is that the website is able to remember your visit when you browse that page again. Although many people don’t know it cookies have been in use for 20 years, when the first browsers for the World Wide Web appeared.
What is NOT a cookie?
.
It is not a virus, Trojan horse, worm, spam, spyware, or pop-up window opener.
What information does a cookie store?
.
The cookies do not usually store sensitive information about you, such as credit card or banking details, photographs, your ID or personal information, etc. The data they do store is of a technical nature, personal preferences, content personalization, etc. The web server does not associate you as a person but your web browser. In fact, if you usually browse with Internet Explorer and try to browse the same web with Firefox or Chrome you will see that the web does not realize that you are the same person because it is actually associating the browser, not the person.
What kind of cookies are there?
.
- Technical cookies: These are the most elementary and allow, among other things, to know when a human or an automated application is browsing, when an anonymous user and a registered user are browsing, basic tasks for the operation of any dynamic website.
- Analysis cookies: Collect information about the type of navigation you are doing, the sections you use the most, products consulted, time of use, language, etc.
- Advertising cookies: Display advertising based on your browsing, your country of origin, language, etc.
.
What are the cookies own and third parties?
.
The own cookies are those generated by the page you are visiting and the third party ones are those generated by external services or providers such as Facebook, Twitter, Google, etc.
What happens if I disable cookies?
.
To help you understand the scope that can have disabling the cookies we show some 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 contents to your personal preferences, as is often the case with online stores.
- The website will not be able to adapt the contents to your personal preferences.
- 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: It will be impossible to make purchases online, they will have to be made by telephone or by visiting the physical store if you have one.
- It will not be possible to customize your geographical preferences such as time zone, currency or language.
- The website will not be able to perform web analytics on visitors and web traffic, which will make it difficult for the website to be competitive.
- You will not be able to write on the blog, upload photos, post comments, rate or rate content. The website will also not be able to know if you are a human or an automated application posting spam.
- You will not be able to display targeted advertising, which will reduce the website’s advertising revenue.
- All social networks use cookies, if you disable them you will not be able to use any social network.
.
Can cookiesbe deleted?
Yes.
Yes. Not only delete, but also block, in general or particular for a specific domain. To remove cookies from a website you must go to your browser settings and there you can search for those associated with the domain in question and proceed to their elimination.
Configuration of cookies for the most popular browsers
.
Here’s how to access a particular cookie in the Chrome browser. Note: these steps may vary depending on your browser version:
.
- Go to Settings or Preferences via the File menu or by clicking on the customization icon at the top right
- You will see different sections, click Show advanced options.
- Go to Privacy, Content settings.
- Select All cookies and site data.
- 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 Find cookies field.
- After performing this filter, enter the cookies in the Find cookies field.
- After performing this filter one or more lines with the cookies of the requested website will appear on the screen. Now just select it and press the X to proceed to its elimination.
.
.
To access the cookies settings of the Internet Explorer browser follow these steps (they may vary depending on the browser version):
- Go to Tools, Internet Options
- Click on Privacy.
- Move the slider until you adjust the level of privacy you want.
.
To access the cookies settings of the Firefox browser follow these steps (may vary depending on the browser version):
.
- Go to Options or Preferences depending on your operating system.
- Click on Preferences.
- Click on Privacy.
- Under History choose Use custom settings for history.
- Now you will see the Accept cookies option, you can turn it on or off according to your preferences.
To access the cookies settings of the Safari for OSX browser follow these steps (may vary depending on browser version):
.
- Go to Preferences, then Privacy.
- In this place you will see the Block cookies option for you to adjust the type of blocking you want to perform.
To access the cookies settings of the Safari for iOS browser follow these steps (may vary depending on the browser version):
.
- Go to Settings, then Safari.
- Go to Privacy and Security, you will see the Block cookies option for you to adjust the type of blocking you want to perform.
To access the cookies browser settings for Android devices follow these steps (may vary depending on the browser version):
- Run the browser and press the Menu key, then Settings.
- Go to Security and Privacy, you will see the Accept cookies option for you to check or uncheck the box.
To access the cookies browser settings for Windows Phone devices follow these steps (may vary depending on browser version):
.
- Open Internet Explorer, then More, then Settings
- You can now check or uncheck the Allow cookies box.
.
.
