This article was published in 2019. Laws, case law and regulatory guidance may have changed since then. Contact us for up to date advice.
When people visit websites, many companies are looking over the visitor’s shoulder. Major examples include Facebook, Google and advertising networks that exchange browsing behaviour among themselves. This allows them to keep an eye on your browsing behaviour. To do so, they use cookies. But what exactly are cookies? What do they do and how do they work?
A cookie is a small text file that the owner (or publisher) of a website places on your computer’s hard drive when you visit the site.
What do cookies do?
They allow information to be collected or stored about the website visit or about the user (or the user’s device). Their main function is to distinguish one user from another. We encounter most cookies on websites where you have to log in. A cookie then ensures that you stay logged in while you use the site.