What is a cookie?
A cookie is a harmless text file that is stored in your browser when you visit almost any website. A cookie is useful because it allows the website to remember your visit when you browse that page again. Although many people are not aware of it, cookies have been in use for 30 years, ever since the first browsers for the World Wide Web appeared.
What is NOT a cookie?
It is not a virus, a trojan, a worm, spam, or spyware, and it does not open pop-up windows.
What information does a cookie store?
Cookies do not usually store sensitive information about you, such as credit cards or bank details, photographs, your ID number or personal information, etc. The data they keep is technical in nature: personal preferences, content customisation, and so on.
The web server does not associate the data with you as a person, but with your web browser. In fact, if you usually browse with Chrome and then try browsing the same website with Firefox or Safari, you will see that the website does not recognise you as the same person, because what it is actually associating is the browser, not the person.
What types of cookies are there?
Technical cookies: These are the most basic ones. Among other things, they make it possible to tell whether the visitor is a human or an automated application, and whether the user is anonymous or registered. They handle the basic tasks required for any dynamic website to work.
Analytics cookies: These collect information about the type of browsing you are doing, the sections you use most, the products you view, the time of day you browse, the language you use, etc.
Advertising cookies: These display advertising based on your browsing, your country of origin, your language, etc.
What are first-party and third-party cookies?
First-party cookies are those generated by the page you are visiting, while third-party cookies are those generated by external services or providers such as Google, Meta, X, etc.
Which third-party cookies does this website use?
This website uses services from third-party providers that set their own cookies. We do not control these cookies, and they are governed by the privacy policy of each provider:
Google AdSense: We display advertising through Google AdSense. Google, as a third-party vendor, uses cookies to serve ads on this site. Google’s use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads to you based on your visit to this site and other sites on the Internet. You can review how Google uses information from sites that use its services at policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites.
Google Analytics: We use Google Analytics to understand how visitors use the site: pages viewed, time spent, approximate location and type of device. This information is aggregated and is not used to identify you personally.
Third-party vendors, including Google, may also use cookies to serve ads based on your prior visits to this website.
What happens if I disable cookies?
So that you understand the consequences of disabling cookies, here are some examples:
- You will not be able to share that website’s content on Facebook, X or any other social network.
- The website will not be able to adapt its content to your personal preferences, as online stores commonly do.
- You will not be able to access that website’s personal area, such as My Account, My Profile or My Orders.
- Online stores: You will not be able to make purchases online. Orders would have to be placed by phone or by visiting the physical store, if there is one.
- It will not be possible to customise your geographic preferences, such as time zone, currency or language.
- The website will not be able to carry out web analytics on visitors and traffic, which will make it harder for the site to remain competitive.
- You will not be able to write on the blog, upload photos, post comments, or rate or score content. Nor will the website be able to tell whether you are a human or an automated application posting spam.
- Targeted advertising cannot be displayed, 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 cookies be deleted?
Yes. Not only deleted, but also blocked, either generally or specifically for a particular domain.
To delete the cookies for a website, go to your browser settings, where you can look for the cookies associated with the domain in question and delete them.
Cookie settings for the most popular browsers
Below we explain how to manage cookies in each browser. Note: these steps may vary depending on the browser version.
Google Chrome (desktop):
- Click the three-dot menu in the top right corner and go to Settings.
- Go to Privacy and security, then Third-party cookies.
- Choose whether to allow or block third-party cookies.
- To delete cookies already stored, go to Privacy and security, then Delete browsing data, and select Cookies and other site data.
- To manage the cookies of one specific site, click the icon to the left of the address bar while on that site and open its site settings.
Microsoft Edge:
- Click the three-dot menu in the top right corner and go to Settings.
- Go to Cookies and site permissions, then Manage and delete cookies and site data.
- From there you can block third-party cookies, view all stored cookies, and delete those of a specific site.
Mozilla Firefox:
- Open the menu and go to Settings.
- Click on Privacy & Security.
- Under Enhanced Tracking Protection, choose Standard, Strict or Custom according to your preferences.
- Under Cookies and Site Data you can clear stored data or manage the data of a specific site.
Safari for macOS:
- Go to Safari, then Settings, then Privacy.
- There you will see the option to block all cookies and to prevent cross-site tracking.
- Click Manage Website Data to view and delete the data stored by a specific site.
Safari for iOS and iPadOS:
- Go to Settings, then Apps, then Safari (on older versions, Safari appears directly in the Settings list).
- Under Privacy & Security you will find the options to block all cookies and to prevent cross-site tracking.
- To delete what is already stored, choose Clear History and Website Data.
Chrome for Android:
- Open Chrome and tap the three-dot menu, then Settings.
- Go to Site settings, then Third-party cookies.
- Choose whether to allow or block them.
- To delete cookies already stored, go to Settings, then Delete browsing data.
How to opt out of personalised advertising
Beyond your browser settings, you can manage personalised advertising directly with the providers:
- To control the ads Google shows you, visit My Ad Center, where you can turn off ad personalisation.
- To learn how Google uses cookies in advertising, see Google’s advertising technologies page.
- To prevent your data from being used by Google Analytics, you can install the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.
- If you are in Europe, you can manage the preferences of several advertising providers at once at Your Online Choices.
- If you are in the United States, you can do the same at the Digital Advertising Alliance.
If you have any further questions about this topic, you can contact us at our email address info@ref76.com