What is a cookie?

A cookie is a harmless text file that is stored in your browser when you visit almost any website. The purpose of the cookie is to allow the website to remember your visit when you navigate back to that page. Although many people may not be aware of it, cookies have been in use for 20 years, dating back to the advent of the first web browsers for the World Wide Web.

What IS NOT a cookie?

It is not a virus, nor a Trojan, nor a worm, nor spam, nor spyware, nor does it open pop-up windows.

What information does a cookie store?

Cookies do not typically store sensitive information about you, such as credit card or banking data, photographs, your ID, or personal information, etc. The data they store is of a technical nature, personal preferences, content customization, etc.

The web server does not associate you as a person but rather with your web browser. In fact, if you regularly browse with Internet Explorer and then try to browse the same website with Firefox or Chrome, you will notice that the website doesn't recognize you as the same person because it's actually associating with the browser, not the individual.

What type of cookies exist?

● Technical Cookies: These are the most basic cookies and serve, among other things, to determine whether a human or an automated application is browsing, whether a user is anonymous or registered, which are essential tasks for the operation of any dynamic website.

● Analytical Cookies: These cookies gather information about the type of browsing you are performing, the sections you use the most, products you've viewed, your usage time frame, language, etc.

● Advertising Cookies: These cookies display advertisements based on your browsing habits, your country of origin, language, etc.

What are first-party and third-party cookies?

First-party cookies are those generated by the website you are visiting, while 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 tailor content to your personal preferences, as is common on online stores.

● You won't have access to the personal area of that website, such as "My Account," "My Profile," or "My Orders."

● For online stores, you won't be able to make purchases online; they will need to be done over the phone or by visiting the physical store if available.

● You won't be able to customize your geographic preferences like time zone, currency, or language.

● The website won't be able to perform web analytics on visitors and traffic, making it less competitive.

● You won't be able to write on the blog, upload photos, post comments, rate or review content. The website also won't be able to determine whether you are a human or an automated application posting spam.

● Targeted advertising won't be displayed, reducing the website's advertising revenue.

● All social networks use cookies, so if you disable them, you won't be able to use any social network.

Can cookies be deleted?

Yes. Not only delete but also block, either in a general or specific manner for a particular domain.
To delete cookies from a website, you should go to your browser's settings, where you can search for those associated with the relevant domain and proceed with their removal.

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 the browser version:

1. Go to Settings or Preferences through the File menu or by clicking the personalization icon that appears at the top right.
2. You will see different sections, click on the Show advanced options option.
3. Go to Privacy, Content Settings.
4. Select All cookies and site data.
5. A list will appear with all the cookies ordered by domain. To make it easier for you to find cookies from a certain domain, enter part or all of the address in the Search cookies field.
6. After performing this filter, one or more lines will appear on the screen with the cookies of the requested website. Now you just have to select it and press the X to proceed to delete it.

To access the cookie settings of the Internet Explorer browser, follow these steps (they may vary depending on the browser version):
1. Go to Tools, Internet Options.
2. Click on Privacy.
3. Move the slider to set the privacy level you want.

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

1. Go to Options or Preferences depending on your operating system.
2. Click on Privacy.
3. Under History choose Use custom settings for history.
4. Now you will see the option Accept cookies, you can activate or deactivate it according to your preferences.
To access the cookie settings of the Safari browser for OSX, follow these steps (they may vary depending on the browser version):

1. Go to Preferences, then Privacy.
2. Here you will see the Block cookies option so you can adjust the type of blocking you want to perform.

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

1. Go to Settings, then Safari.
2. Go to Privacy and Security, you will see the Block cookies option to set the type of blocking you want to perform.

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

1. Launch the browser and press the Menu key, then Settings.
2. Go to Security and Privacy, you will see the option Accept cookies so you can activate or deactivate the box.

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

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