When you surf the internet you are usually asked by the websites to select the cookies that will be stored on your machine. Is the "Accept all" option correct?
European legislation requires websites to ask you to choose which cookies you want to accept and which you don't. Most people just click “Accept All” without reading the fine print. But do you really need to accept all cookies?
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When you should accept cookies
Most of the time, when you visit a website for the first time, the website asks for cookies to be created. Your browser stores these small files on your device and the next time you visit the website, your browser retrieves the cookies and sends them to the website's network server.
In this way, network servers can easily recognize you and your device, remember information about your previous visits and make the website more useful and your life easier.
Read: Cookies: All about online cookies
Cookies aren't all bad. In fact, some are very useful. Here are the three cookies we recommend you accept while browsing.
1. Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are so called because some parts of the website cannot function without them. They allow you to maintain forms, shopping carts and consent preferences, navigate from one page to another and return to the previous one, or even stay logged in.
Although it's a good idea to accept necessary cookies, on most websites you won't find a way to reject them.
You can only disable essential cookies by modifying your browser settings, although this may affect how the sites work.
2. Performance cookies
Although not required, you can also accept performance or analytics cookies. Through these cookies, websites receive information (anonymously), such as how many people visit their website, how long they spend, which pages they visit and which links they click on.
If you want to help the websites you visit improve their design, content and functionality, you should accept performance cookies, as this is how they understand what people like and don't like and adjust accordingly (if they want to).
3. Functional cookies
You can also accept functional or personalized cookies. These cookies help websites remember your preferences about language, time zone, font, login credentials and other things, which also helps websites load faster.
Although these cookies are not necessary, they improve your browsing experience. Imagine having to choose your preferred language every time you visit a website you use more or less often!
More generally, you don't have to compromise your browsing experience by refusing all cookies.
When you can reject cookies
Although marketing cookies are not particularly harmful, they primarily benefit the website or a third party (usually advertising networks or social media platforms). These cookies may also process your Personally Identifiable Information by tracking your browsing activities, increasing the risk of a data breach.
With marketing cookies, also called tracking, targeting or advertising cookies, the aim is to create a profile of your interests in order to display relevant advertisements. That's why you can do a one-time search for women's jeans and then receive successive ads for women's jeans.
Read: What are Tracking cookies really?
Of course, seeing only ads relevant to you sounds great, but you may find that the ads are overdoing it and actually getting stuck on one or two topics.
If you reject marketing cookies, you will still see ads, but relatively irrelevant ones and not just those that the ad platforms consider “relevant to you”.
How to manage cookie settings
Most websites will allow you to accept or reject cookies on your first visit. However, in some cases, you may be persuaded to accept necessary cookies.
In other cases, it will appear as if you are being informed, without the ability to make choices. However, since all websites are required by law to inform you and obtain your consent before storing cookies on your devices, you will find the cookie policy hidden somewhere in the pop-up message.
Another way to manage your cookie settings is to accept only necessary cookies by default. You can do this by changing your browser's cookie settings or by installing extensions that can block tracking cookies.
You can also use an incognito or private browsing mode to manage your cookie settings. This feature prevents websites from storing cookies by deleting them as soon as you close the window. However, this feature may not completely prevent websites from collecting data about you, especially if you do not block third-party cookies in this feature.
In conclusion
Cookies aren't all bad. However, accepting every cookie request is not necessary or beneficial for you.
Please consider taking the time to study cookie requests and manage the permissions you grant. You can maintain a smooth browsing experience while limiting unnecessary tracking.
Read: Cookies: Find what kind of cookies each web site serves
More generally:
- Accept strictly necessary cookies for optimal website functionality.
- Please consider accepting performance cookies to help improve the websites.
- Reject marketing cookies to protect personal data and avoid excessive advertising.
