You’ve been mindlessly accepting cookies for this whole time, but now you’re asking yourself: “Wait, what does it mean? What am I accepting?”.
In this post, we explain what accepting cookiesreallymeans and why privacy laws stress the importance of consent so much.
What are you accepting when you click on “Accept”?
So you might be wondering, what does accept cookies mean? In general, when you “accept” cookies, you’re giving consent for the website to run cookie scripts and similar technologies. This isn’t always a bad thing as cookies can be quite useful for various things like playing videos, shopping cart software, showing personalized ads, analytics and more.
But before we get into the various purposes of cookies and the legal considerations, let’s first start with some definitions. Do you know what cookies are?
Cookies are scripts that websites install on your device, and they can be first-party or third-party.
👉 First-partycookies are those managed directly by the owner of a website or app;
👉 Third-party cookiesare managed by third parties (for example, social media platforms or ad networks) and enable their services. Typically, third-parties install cookies when a site/app uses their services to incorporate images, social media plugins, or advertising.
Keep in mind that cookies can have different purposes. Some of them give you a more enhanced experience of the website you’re visiting. For example, cookies can remember your username and password or the items you’ve added to your cart during online shopping. Others, instead, can track your online behavior to give you targeted advice or give website owners insight into their audience.
So basically, when you click on accept, you’re allowing websites to install cookie scripts on your device. These scripts are saved on your browser, and every time you go back to the same website, they’ll remember your preferences.
🍪
More on cookies
This article is a part of our series on cookies and cookie consent. Read also:
There still isn’t an all-encompassing privacy law in the US, but we can look at California as the state with the most comprehensive data privacy legislation. According to theCalifornia Privacy Rights Act (CPRA, CCPA amendment), websites owners can run cookies without consent (opt-in). Still, they must inform the users through a “Do Not Sell My Personal Information”notice. Users canopt-out(decline cookies) at any time.
It’s important to note thatusers have the right to withdraw their consent at any time,even though they consented to cookies in the first place.
Accepting all cookies gives third-party entities, like advertisers, your data. Accepting "necessary cookies" helps the website function properly. And closing the box without choosing will either opt you in or out depending on the website's default settings. "Generally you have complete control.
Most cookies are harmless, which are only used by the website owner to let you access the site's full experience. Also, you won't get the personalized features while revisiting the website, meaning you'll have to fill up your preferences, like language, etc., every time you go to the site.
In general, when you “accept” cookies, you're giving consent for the website to run cookie scripts and similar technologies. This isn't always a bad thing as cookies can be quite useful for various things like playing videos, shopping cart software, showing personalized ads, analytics and more.
It's a good idea to decline third-party cookies. If you don't decline, the website could sell your browsing data to third parties. Sharing your personal information with third parties without giving you any control over it could also leave you vulnerable.
Cookies can sometimes be a problem, though. You might need to clear your cookies on an iPhone to resolve a problem with the way your browser is behaving, or to save storage space. And some privacy advocates recommend blocking cookies entirely, so that websites can't glean personal information about you.
Tracking cookies can collect information about all the sites you visit, the pages you looked at within a website, products you might have clicked on, purchases that you've made, etc, IP address, and your geographic location.
The cache can also cause issues when viewing new versions of previously visited web pages. Deleting the cache and cookies data regularly helps to troubleshoot, helps to increase the loading time of web pages, loads new versions of web pages and increases the performance of your computer.
Cons of accepting cookies: 1. Privacy concerns: One of the primary concerns with cookies is the potential invasion of privacy. Cookies can track your online activities, collect information about your behavior, and create a profile of your interests.
If you've accidentally accepted cookies you're no longer sure about, use your browser's settings menu to clear all cookies, or selectively dump cookies associated with a certain website or browsing session.
What is a cookies blocker extension? You can download a cookie blocker extension to automatically reject cookies and remove intrusive cookie consent notices that pop all over the web. This will improve your browsing experience and stop you from accidentally allowing cookies.
Here are some examples of what happens if you block all cookies: You may not be able to automatically sign in to a site because your saved username and password is deleted. Some web pages or features won't function. You may see a message on websites asking you to enable cookies for it to load.
It's a small price for reclaiming a bit of privacy. Clearing cookies means losing certain conveniences: Saved logins: You'll need to log back into websites again. Site preferences: Any settings specific to a website will be reset.
So what does it mean to accept all cookies? "You're consenting for those cookies to be on your computer, for that data to be used," he said. Accepting all cookies gives third-party entities, like advertisers, your data. Accepting "necessary cookies" helps the website function properly.
Enabling cookies is optional, but it's sometimes best to enable them on reputable sites that need to know your preferences. When enabled, you'll allow the sites you visit the chance to customize your browsing experience based on your behavior, habits, and preferences as a user.
By not accepting cookies, you eliminate the chance a hacker could hijack your cookies and use the data inside to access sites while pretending to be you. There are times when accepting cookies is particularly risky, including: Accepting third-party cookies. Accepting cookies your antivirus flagged as malicious.
The server can track certain information about your visits, such as your preferred language and other settings. Cookies also help websites remember your login information and other preferences. While cookies are technically safe, they can be used to track your online behavior.
Computer cookies pose several potential dangers to user privacy and security. They can be exploited for tracking user behavior across websites, leading to intrusive targeted advertising and potential privacy violations.
Cookies contain information such as pages visited on a website, items in the shopping cart, login details, search history and language preferences. They can also collect personally identifiable information such as name, email address, phone number and other personal data that users enter through website forms.
Address: 2865 Kasha Unions, West Corrinne, AK 05708-1071
Phone: +3512198379449
Job: Design Planner
Hobby: Graffiti, Foreign language learning, Gambling, Metalworking, Rowing, Sculling, Sewing
Introduction: My name is Dong Thiel, I am a brainy, happy, tasty, lively, splendid, talented, cooperative person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
We notice you're using an ad blocker
Without advertising income, we can't keep making this site awesome for you.
