Last updated January 05, 2020
What Are Cookies
Cookies are found on almost every major website. A cookie is a small text file that is downloaded onto a browser or device to allow a website to recognise it and to store specific and general information about you, keep track of your visits and activity, your system and your preferences.
Are Cookies Safe?
Let’s look at what Norton has to say about the safety of web cookies:
Under normal circumstances, cookies cannot transfer viruses or malware to your computer. Because the data in a cookie doesn’t change when it travels back and forth, it has no way to affect how your computer runs.
Page Exerpt ~ Norton – Symantec Corporation
WHAT KINDS OF COOKIES DO WE USE?
We use or plan to use, cookies for personalization, analytics, security and advertising.
The most common classification system for cookies was proposed and developed by The UK International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). The ICC proposes these four classes of cookies:
- Strictly Necessary Cookies
- Performance Cookies
- Functionality Cookies
- Targeting/Advertising Cookies
STRICTLY NECESSARY COOKIES
“These cookies are essential in order to enable you to move around the website and use its features, such as accessing secure areas of the website. Without these cookies services, you have asked for, like shopping baskets or e-billing, cannot be provided.
PERFORMANCE COOKIES
“These cookies collect information about how visitors use a website, for instance, which pages visitors go to most often, and if they get error messages from web pages. These cookies don’t collect information that identifies a visitor. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. It is only used to improve how a website works. [emphasis mine]
FUNCTIONALITY COOKIES
“These cookies allow the website to remember choices you make (such as your user name, language or the region you are in) and provide enhanced, more personal features. For instance… these cookies can be used to remember changes you have made to text size, fonts and other parts of web pages that you can customise. They may also be used to provide services you have asked for such as watching a video or commenting on a blog. The information these cookies collect may be anonymised and they cannot track your browsing activity on other websites.
TARGETING/ADVERTISING COOKIES
“These cookies are used to deliver adverts more relevant to you and your interests. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advertisement as well as help measure the effectiveness of the advertising campaign. They are usually placed by advertising networks with the website operator’s permission. They remember that you have visited a website and this information is shared with other organisations such as advertisers. Quite often targeting or advertising cookies will be linked to site functionality provided by the other organisation.
Having such a classification makes it easier for us, as bloggers, as well as visitors to our sites. We can now explain how we handle cookies in groupings, instead of each individual cookie – which gets technical and long-winded. To help with the explanation of the cookies in groupings, I’ve written some examples that you can include in your blog’s privacy policy.
THIRD-PARTY COOKIES
Third parties who advertise on our website, such as for example, Google and Amazon, use cookies their own cookies. Third-party cookies are out of our control and, often, without our knowledge.
Google Ads Data Processing Terms:
https://privacy.google.com/businesses/processorterms/