What are cookies?

Surely more than once when entering a website you have skipped the famous “acceptance of cookies” message. But what exactly are they and what are they for?

Cookies are part of the measurement methods of web pages, they are pieces of data that accumulate in a text file on the hard drive of computers.

They are generated on web servers , whose mission is to send cookies to different browsers. Once installed, the browsers return the information collected on the user's behavior to the servers, making the user see one piece of information or another in his browser.

Why are cookies used?

First, to recognize the user, that is, if someone enters their name and password on a web page, the next time they access the site they will be recognized automatically without having to identify themselves again.

Another use of cookies is to know the behavior of users, that is, to personalize navigation and offer relevant advertising according to consumer behavior.

How many types of cookies are there?

There are different types but we could highlight two classifications:

According to its duration

• Temporary: once the user closes the browser they disappear.
• Permanent: they continue once the browser is closed, and can be established for an unlimited time.

Depending on who manages them

• 1st party: established by the same domain that appears in your browser.
• 3rd party (3rd party): managed by a third party, it is usually the advertising companies that manage this type of cookies. Its purpose is to monitor user behavior on various websites.

How the first cookie came about

The first cookie was created by programmer Lou Montulli in 1994, then a developer at Netscape Communications.

The developer's task was to ensure that e-commerce users could keep the shopping cart filled with the same items while browsing.

In addition, Montulli had to do it using a technology that did not use many server resources. That is why the cookie is a text file installed on the user's computer.