We use cookies and similar technologies for advertising purposes, statistical identification. Using the site without changing your browser settings means that they will be placed in your device and at the same time agree to their use. You can always change your browser settings disabling cookies. Please be advised that disabling cookies will frustrate the use of our site or may not be able to function correctly in your browser.
Cookies
A cookie is a small piece of data that a website asks your browser to store on your computer or mobile device. The cookie allows the website to "remember" your actions or preferences over time.
Most browsers support cookies, but users can set their browsers to decline them and can delete them whenever they like.
Description
Websites mainly use cookies to:
- identify users
- remember users' custom preferences
- help users complete tasks without having to re‑enter information when browsing from one page to another or when visiting the site later.
Cookies can also be used for online behavioural target advertising and to show adverts relevant to something that the user searched for in the past.
How are they used?
The web server supplying the webpage can store a cookie on the user's computer or mobile device. An external web server that manages files included or referenced in the webpage is also able to store cookies. All these cookies are called http header cookies. Another way of storing cookies is through JavaScript code contained or referenced in that page.
Each time the user requests a new page, the web server can receive the values of the cookies it previously set and return the page with content relating to these values. Similarly, JavaScript code is able to read a cookie belonging to its domain and perform an action accordingly.
What are the different types of cookies?
A cookie can be classified by its lifespan and the domain to which it belongs. By lifespan, a cookie is either a:
- session cookie which is erased when the user closes the browser or
- persistent cookie which remains on the user's computer/device for a pre-defined period of time.
As for the domain to which it belongs, there are either:
- first-party cookies which are set by the web server of the visited page and share the same domai
- third-party cookies stored by a different domain to the visited page's domain. This can happen when the webpage references a file, such as JavaScript, located outside its domain.