What is a cookie?

A cookie is a harmless text file stored in your browser when you visit almost any web page. Cookies allow the website to remember your visit when you return. Although many people do not know it, cookies have been used for more than 20 years, since the first World Wide Web browsers appeared.


What is not a cookie?

It is not a virus, Trojan, worm, spam, spyware, or pop-up window.


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 or personal information, etc. The data they store are of a technical nature, personal preferences, personalisation of contents, etc.

The web server does not associate you as a person, but rather your web browser. In fact, if you usually browse with Internet Explorer and then try visiting the same website with Firefox or Chrome, the website will not realise that you are the same person because it is actually associating the visit with the browser, not the person.


What types of cookies exist?

  • Technical cookies: These are the most basic cookies and make it possible, among other things, to know when a human or an automated application is browsing, and when an anonymous or registered user is browsing. These are basic tasks for any dynamic website.
  • Analytics cookies: These collect information about how you browse, the sections you use most, products viewed, time of use, language, etc.
  • Advertising cookies: These display advertising based on your browsing, country of origin, language, etc.

What are first-party and third-party cookies?

First-party cookies are generated by the page you are visiting. Third-party cookies are generated by external services or providers such as Facebook, Twitter, Google, etc.


What happens if I turn off cookies?

To help you understand what can happen if you disable cookies, here are a few examples:

  • You will not be able to share content from that website on Facebook, Twitter, or any other social network.
  • The website will not be able to adapt the content to your personal preferences, as is often the case in online shops.
  • You will not be able to access the personal area of that website, such as My Account, or My Profile or My Orders.
  • Online stores: You will not be able to shop online; you will have to order by phone or visit the physical store, if it has one.
  • It will not be possible to customize your geographic preferences such as time zone, currency, or language.
  • The website will not be able to perform web analytics on visitors and traffic to the website, which will make it difficult for the website to be competitive.
  • You will not be able to write on the blog, upload photos, publish comments, or rate content. The website will also not be able to tell whether you are a human or an automated application publishing spam.
  • It will not be possible to show targeted advertising, 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 I delete cookies?

Yes. You can not only delete cookies, but also block them, either generally or for a specific domain.

To delete cookies from a website, go to your browser settings, search for those associated with the relevant domain, and delete them.


Cookie settings for the most popular browsers

Here's how to access a specific cookie from your Chrome browser. Note: These steps may vary depending on the browser version:

  1. Go to Settings or Preferences through the File menu, or click the customization icon at the top right.
  2. You will see different sections, click on the option Show Advanced Options.
  3. Go to Privacy, Content Settings.
  4. Select All Cookies and Site Data.
  5. A list with all cookies sorted by domain will appear. To make it easier for you to find the cookies for a given domain, enter part or all of the address in the Search for cookies field.
  6. After carrying out this filter, one or more lines with the cookies of the requested website will appear on the screen. Now all you have to do is select it and press the X to delete it.

To access your Internet Explorer browser's cookie settings follow these steps (they may vary depending on your browser's version):

  1. Go to Tools, Internet Options.
  2. Click on Privacy.
  3. Move the slider to adjust the privacy level you want.

To access your Firefox browser's cookie settings follow these steps (they may vary depending on your browser's version):

  1. Go to Options or Preferences according to your operating system.
  2. Click on Privacy.
  3. Under History, choose Use custom settings for history.
  4. You will now see the Accept cookies option, which you can enable or disable according to your preferences.

To access your Safari browser's cookie settings for OSX follow these steps (they may vary depending on your browser version):

  1. Go to Preferences, then Privacy.
  2. Here you will see the Block cookies option, where you can choose the type of blocking you want to apply.

To access your Safari browser's cookie settings for iOS follow these steps (they may vary depending on your browser version):

  1. Go to Settings, then Safari.
  2. Under Privacy and Security, you'll see the Block Cookies option to adjust the type of block you want to perform.

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

  1. Run the browser and press the Menu key, then Settings.
  2. Go to Security and Privacy, you'll see the Accept cookies option to enable or disable the check box.

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

  1. Open Internet Explorer, then More, then Settings.
  2. You can now enable or disable the Allow cookies check box.