Understanding Cookies: Their Role & Mechanism

While browsing the web, you will frequently come across cookies, whether you know it (from a cookie banner) or not. A browser cookie (often called a HTTP cookie, internet cookie or web cookie) is a small piece of data that is stored on a user’s browser from a website. This small text file has a unique ID that allows the website and browser to remember various preferences.

These cookies are stored for a range of purposes, such as uniquely identifying users, managing browsing sessions, facilitating personalized user experiences, ad targeting, and much more.

Types of cookies: Session, Persistent, First- and Third-Party

Session cookies

Session cookies are temporary cookies – that means they are only present as long as a user’s web browser stays open or the session is active. As soon as the web browser is closed, the cookies are removed from the device. Since session cookies remember users as they move around a website, they can tell the server what pages to show the user so the user doesn’t have to remember where they left off or start navigating the site all over again. For example, if someone puts an item in their cart while they browse around the website, the website can remember this and keep it in their cart.

Persistent cookies

Persistent, or permanent, cookies last longer than session cookies. When a user visits a website, the website creates a persistent cookie that is stored on the user’s device. The unique identifier in this cookie allows the user to be tracked on the website across multiple browsing sessions, allowing it to be updated as more information is inputted.

When these cookies are created, they have to have an expiration date so they are not permanently stored on a user’s device.

First-party cookies

First-party cookies are generated by the website itself, generally used to improve user experience on the website. These cookies could help with remembering language settings, adding multiple items to a cart and even remembering your login information. Because they are created and used by the website being visited, first-party cookies are generally considered more secure and less intrusive compared to third-party cookies, which are set by external sites.

Third-party cookies

As touched on above, third-party cookies are created by another website to the one being visited. These cookies are typically used for tracking and advertising purposes across multiple websites. For example, an ad network can collect a user’s browsing habits across various sites, building a profile to serve targeted ads no matter where they are on the web.

While they help advertisers deliver more relevant content, third-party cookies often raise privacy concerns, leading to increased scrutiny and regulatory actions to limit their use.

Cookies and user experience: benefits and drawbacks

Web cookies offer many benefits for organizations and users:

• Enhanced user experience: Cookies remember user preferences, such as language settings and themes, providing a more personalized browsing experience
• Session management: Cookies keep users logged in and remembered as they navigate through a website
• Analytics and performance tracking: They help organizations collect data on user behavior, allowing for improvements to site functionality and content
• Targeted advertising: Cookies allow for more relevant and personalized advertising by tracking browsing habits and user interest, increasing the effectiveness of ads.

However, we are starting to see the drawbacks of browser cookies as well…

• Intrusive advertising: Cookies enable targeted ads, but some users find this invasive and annoying
• Storage issues: Accumulation of cookies can take up storage space and potentially slow down browser performance
• Security risks: If cookies are intercepted or manipulated, sensitive information could be compromised
• Privacy concerns: Cookies can track user behavior across multiple sites, leading to concerns about data collection and its potential misuse
• Regulatory compliance: Managing cookies to comply with privacy laws (like GDPR or CCPA) can be complex for website owners, particularly as more laws are enacted globally.

Privacy concerns and cookie regulation

Across the globe, more and more comprehensive privacy laws are being considered and enacted, meaning cookies are becoming more regulated to protect the privacy of web users.

Cookies can collect a lot of personal information about a user, allowing organizations to track them across the web and create detailed profiles on their interests. There has been a lot of pushback in recent years as users find this increasingly invasive in their online lives, wanting instead to be in control of what data is collected and stored by companies.

As it stands, compliant cookie banners allow for compliance across websites, letting users choose all cookies apart from essential cookies (in an ideal world). However, this can often lead to consent fatigue, as users constantly have to accept and decline new cookies as they browse around the web, quite often from the same website.

Future of cookies: Alternatives and technological advances

The cookie-less future has been threatened for the last couple of years, as Google attempts to make a move away from third-party cookies. But what does this mean for the future of tracking users across the web?

New privacy-centric alternatives are becoming the norm, as technologies like Google’s Privacy Sandbox aim to deliver targeted ads without compromising user data. This means that organizations will have to rely more heavily on first-party data, collecting and retaining data directly from user interactions on websites.

Having an effective consent management platform will allow for enhanced user control and transparency over what data is being stored and used, allowing users to change their preferences at any time.

Balancing convenience and privacy

Cookies play a crucial role in the functionality and personalization of web experiences. From session management and user preference storage to targeted advertising and analytics, they offer numerous benefits. However, this needs to be balanced with the rise of significant privacy concerns and security risks. There is now increased regulatory scrutiny and push for privacy-centric alternatives.

As technology evolves, balancing the advantages of cookies with the need for user privacy and compliance will be essential. Adopting effective consent management practices and exploring new tracking technologies will help organizations navigate the future of web cookies responsibly.