COOKIES
Introduction
Cookies are designed to remember Stateful information (e.g. items in a shopping basket,
saved passwords, previously filled forms…) or record the User’s browsing activity.
They are small data files that are sent from a website which is stored on a User’s
web browser, whilst they are browsing. Every time the User loads the website, the
browser sends the cookie back to the server to notify the website of the User’s previous
activities.
Cookies are used to record information about your preferences as you browse a website,
which allows it to improve your web browsing experience by modifying the website
accordingly.
There are several kinds of Cookies which are explained as follows:-
- Session Cookies - These are used to maintain information about each visit to the
website and enable core site functionality. These do not contain any personal
information and only lasts for the duration of your visit which are usually deleted
as soon as the web browser closes.
- Persistent Cookies - These are also known as Tracking Cookies which outlast the
user session. These have a set expiry date and will be stored on your computer
until either the date is reached, or you delete your cookies using your browsing
settings. These usually record how the user initially came to the website.
- First-Party Cookies - These are cookies that belong to the website /domain you
are browsing (or that belong to the sub domain of the domain shown in the address
bar).
- Third-Party Cookies - These are cookies that belong to domains different from the
one shown in the address bar. Websites may contain content from third-party domains
which can give them the ability to track the User’s browsing history.
