An “Internet Cookie” (also known as a “browser cookie” or “HTTP cookie” or simply “cookie”) is a small file, made up of letters and numbers, that is stored on a computer, mobile device, or other equipment of a user accessing the Internet. The cookie is installed through a request sent from a web server to a browser (e.g., Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox) and is completely “passive” (it does not contain software programs, viruses, or spyware and cannot access information from the user’s hard drive).

A cookie consists of two parts: the name and the content or value of the cookie. Additionally, the lifespan of a cookie is determined; technically, only the server that sent the cookie can access it again when the user returns to the website associated with the web server.

Cookies play an important role in facilitating access and delivery of various services that the user enjoys on the Internet, such as:

• Customizing certain settings, such as: the language in which a site is viewed, the currency in which certain prices or rates are displayed, saving options for various products (quantity, other details, etc.).
• Cookies provide website owners with valuable feedback on how their websites are used by visitors, allowing them to make them more efficient and accessible to users.
• Enabling multimedia applications or other types from other sites to be included on a site, creating a more valuable, useful, and enjoyable browsing experience.

Cookies themselves do not require personal information to be used and, in most cases, do not identify individual Internet users.

There are two main categories of cookies:

• Session cookies – These are temporarily stored in the browser’s cookie folder to be remembered by the browser until the user leaves the website or closes the browser window (e.g., when logging in/out of a webmail account or social networks).
• Persistent cookies – These are stored on a computer’s hard drive or equipment (and generally depend on the preset lifespan of the cookie). Persistent cookies include those placed by a website other than the one the user is visiting at that moment – known as “third-party cookies” – which can be used anonymously to remember a user’s interests, so that the most relevant advertisements can be delivered to the users.