HTTP Cookies

_{Written by Benjamin Evans}

Introduced by web-browser programmer Lou Montulli, Cookies (Formally known as HTTP Cookies), "are small blocks of data created by a web server... [saved to the user’s computer] by the user's web browser" (“HTTP Cookie,” 2021). Cookies have many functions such as “keeping track of a user’s browsing activity in order to [show] targeted advertising” (Create a Pro Website, 2019). Cookies can also have more simple functions like remembering login details of users, as well as tracking site visitor counts so that website developers can have more accurate data on the number of unique visitors.

The 'Cookie Agreement Policy'

In 2009 the EU issued a directive banning the use of cookies without prior consent. This directive was made to increase privacy for users browsing websites. However, only 3 of the 27 countries in the EU imposed state laws requiring this prior consent. One of the most common ways websites now ask for this consent for cookies, is via a pop-up which assumes that users know what cookies are and what they do often describing them as something that ‘enhances the user experience’.

References

Create a Pro Website. (2019, August 31). What Are Cookies? And How They Work | Explained for Beginners! [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdVPflECed8

HTTP cookie. (2021, July 8). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTTP_cookie