So what is a cookie? And are they safe to accept? 

What Are Cookies?

Simply put, cookies are small pieces of text sent to your browser that help the website you visit remember certain information about you. What information? It’s usually very innocuous stuff like your preferred language, the size of your screen, and other stuff about your browsing preferences. 

Cookies can also store information like what you’ve clicked on, what items you’ve added to your shopping cart, and which news articles you’ve read. If you’ve clicked the “remember me” box so you don’t have to log into Facebook each and every time, you’re relying on cookies. .When you ask your browser to remember your password, you’re relying on cookies. 

So They’re Bad?

This might sound scary, but in many cases, cookies make your experience online significantly easier. 

For example, if you disable cookies on Netflix, the site won’t “remember” which episodes of a series you’ve already seen or where you left off if you stopped watching mid-episode. 

In other cases, disabling cookies will prevent the website from functioning altogether. Amazon, for example, cannot run if you don’t accept cookies. Remember that allowing them permits the website you’re visiting to share certain information with your browser, including which items you’ve looked at and, most importantly, which you’ve added to your shopping cart.  

So They’re Good?

Well, not exactly. 

Cookies can also be used to remember websites you’ve visited and what you’ve viewed on those pages, and then to tailor the ads you see to reflect your browsing history. 

While this isn’t inherently dangerous (we are all going to see ads anyway – is there harm in seeing ones tailored to your specific interests?) it can definitely feel creepy. No one likes the idea of having someone follow them from store to store and then ensure that the newspaper they receive only contains ads from those stores, so why do we think it’s okay online? 

Some folks find it a necessary evil. Their logic is that cookies suggesting ads to you are just something you have to live with if you want to use the internet. Others recognize that accepting cookies is essential to browse some sites but would prefer not to have them stored long-term. Others still prefer to avoid cookies altogether. There are solutions for each preference. 

It is possible to clear cookies from your browser – this way you can use each website to its full functionality without permanently saving them to your computer. You can do so on a schedule, on demand, or every time you close your browser.

The frequency with which you opt to do so depends on numerous factors, including your personal level of comfort with having cookies on your browser and how useful you find cookies to be. Some people, for example, find that the tailored ads are worth having a website remember things like your language preferences or which articles you have read in the past.

Generally speaking, to adjust your cookie settings, you will need to visit your browser settings and then take a look at what privacy and security features your browser offers. You can typically access these options by clicking the three dots to the far right of your address bar. Keep an eye out for a step-by-step guide on how to adjust your cookie preferences for both Chrome and Firefox users.

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