Further información about cookies

What is a cookie?

A cookie is a harmless text file stored in your browser when you visit almost any webpage. The purpose of the cookie is to allow the website to remember your visit when you return. Although many people don’t know it, cookies have been used for 20 years, since the first browsers for the World Wide Web appeared.

What is NOT a cookie?

It is not a virus, Trojan, worm, spam, spyware, or a 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, ID numbers, or personal information. The data they hold are technical, like personal preferences, content customization, etc.

The web server does not associate you as a person but rather with your web browser. In fact, if you regularly browse with Internet Explorer and switch to Firefox or Chrome for the same website, it won’t recognize you as the same person because it is associating with the browser, not the individual.

What types of cookies exist?

  • Technical cookies: These are the most basic and allow, among other things, the website to know whether a human or an automated application is browsing, whether the user is anonymous or registered, and basic tasks necessary for any dynamic website to function.
  • Analytical cookies: These gather information about the browsing behavior, the sections you use the most, products viewed, time spent, language, etc.
  • Advertising cookies: These display ads based on your browsing, country of origin, language, etc.

What are first-party and third-party cookies?

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

What happens if I disable cookies?

To help you understand the potential impact of disabling cookies, here are some examples:

  • You won’t be able to share content from that website on Facebook, Twitter, or any other social network.
  • The website won’t be able to tailor content to your personal preferences, as usually happens with online stores.
  • You won’t have access to the personal areas of the website, such as “My Account,” “My Profile,” or “My Orders.”
  • Online stores: You won’t be able to make online purchases, so they will have to be made by phone or by visiting the physical store if available.
  • You won’t be able to personalize your geographic preferences like time zone, currency, or language.
  • The website won’t be able to perform web analytics about visitors and traffic, making it harder to remain competitive.
  • You won’t be able to write on the blog, upload photos, post comments, rate content, or leave reviews. The website also won’t be able to determine if you are a human or an automated application publishing spam.
  • Sector-targeted ads won’t be shown, reducing the site’s ad revenue.
  • All social networks use cookies. If you disable them, you won’t be able to use any social network.

Can cookies be deleted?

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

To delete cookies from a website, you need to go to your browser’s settings, search for the domain in question, and proceed with the deletion.

Cookie settings for popular browsers:

Here’s how to access a specific cookie in Chrome. Note: These steps may vary depending on the version of the browser:

  1. Go to Settings or Preferences via the File menu or by clicking the personalization icon in the top right corner.
  2. You’ll see different sections, click on Show advanced options.
  3. Go to Privacy, Content Settings.
  4. Select All cookies and site data.
  5. A list of all cookies sorted by domain will appear. To make it easier to find cookies for a specific domain, enter part or all of the address in the Search cookies field.
  6. After filtering, you’ll see one or more lines with the cookies from the requested website. Now you just have to select it and press the X to delete it.

To access cookie settings in Internet Explorer, follow these steps (they may vary depending on the browser version):

  1. Go to Tools, Internet Options.
  2. Click on Privacy.
  3. Adjust the slider to set the desired privacy level.

To access cookie settings in Firefox, follow these steps (they may vary depending on the version of the browser):

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

To access cookie settings in Safari for OSX, follow these steps (they may vary depending on the version of the browser):

  1. Go to Preferences, then Privacy.
  2. You will see the option Block cookies to adjust the type of blocking you want to do.

To access cookie settings in Safari for iOS, follow these steps (they may vary depending on the version of the browser):

  1. Go to Settings, then Safari.
  2. Go to Privacy and Security, and you’ll see the option Block cookies to adjust the type of blocking you want to do.

To access cookie settings in Android browsers, follow these steps (they may vary depending on the version of the browser):

  1. Open the browser and press the Menu button, then Settings.
  2. Go to Security and Privacy, and you’ll see the option to Accept cookies to activate or deactivate the checkbox.

To access cookie settings in Windows Phone browsers, follow these steps (they may vary depending on the version of the browser):

  1. Open Internet Explorer, then More, then Settings.
  2. Now you can activate or deactivate the Allow cookies checkbox.