Every day we find all over the Internet websites that beg us to accept their “cookies”. As the good Internet users that we are, we accept it without too much consideration; and many times without asking ourselves what cookies are and what accepting them entails on all the websites we visit.
Since the approval of the GDPR in 2018; sites that use cookies are required to display the message to let the user know what is happening behind the scenes on their computer. However, as informative as it may be, thousands of websites ask for it over and over again; regardless of whether we have previously accepted it. This, of course, ends up being a headache every time we want to search for information and we are interrupted by a window that asks us to accept cookies for the umpteenth time.
So, what are cookies and why do I have to accept them? is there anything I can do to stop seeing this message anymore? The answer is yes. In fact, getting rid of these ads is quite easy.
What are Internet cookies
A cookie is a file created by a website, which contains small amounts of data. This file is sent by a sender to a receiver. In the case of an internet browsing experience, the sender is the server on which a website is hosted; while the receiver will be the browser used by the user to visit said portals.
In this way, the cookie has a simple job: identify the user. For this, the cookie saves activity data from specific sites in its file; in this way, the website can ensure offer appropriate content according to the person's browsing habits. Every time you accept a cookie, it is saved in your browser with a little information. Also, every time you enter the same website, the server will use this same stored cookie to personalize your visit.
For its part, the information stored in cookies may vary from one site to another. With them, websites can know when was the last time a certain user visited them; as well as the save items such as the items in your shopping cart.
In conclusion, cookies usually have two main jobs: remember accesses and know the user's browsing habits. In this way web pages can identify your computer, and thus personalize the web or remember login credentials. Therefore, if these files did not exist, you would have to constantly log in to the websites that you visit frequently; or constantly fill your Amazon basket every time you reload the page. Although for this same reason it is advisable to delete cookies from time to time.
What happens if I accept cookies on a website
Although cookies are not bad by nature, not all websites use them for examples as benign as those exposed above. At the end of the day, cookies are used by websites to remember your browsing data; a function used by many third parties to send information related to your interests and identify you as a user of certain websites.
This is why some platforms, such as Facebook and other ad-supported services, install cookie packages on various websites all over the Internet; regardless of whether or not they have to do with your services. To be corporations, cookies work more like surveillance cameras that allow them to know what you visit, what your personal tastes are, record your searches on search engines such as Google, your purchasing habits, your needs and pleasures.
Thus, they manage to put together an image of the user who visits their website, information that might not matter to you; but that it is very valuable and that these companies end up selling or exchanging with other companies. This is when Internet advertising begins to work; and when you see that all the websites magically start showing you ads about topics that you like, that you have talked about or need. Congratulations, your user profile has been successfully sold.
Which are the most common on the Internet
On the Internet there are several types of cookies . Each one has different purposes that will personalize different areas of your navigation.
Own and third-party cookies: when a cookie comes from the domain of a specific webmaster, owner of these , it is said that they are own cookies. In the event that the cookies you find on the page are managed by an entity other than the web editor itself, they are third-party cookies. The latter are usually used for analytical purposes.Persistent and session cookies: session cookies record information only during the time the user browses the website. The persistent ones, however, are stored continuously so that the page can access them when needed.Technical and analysis cookies: the former are responsible for monitoring traffic and extracting information on data form. The second, for its part, serves to know the behavior of users on the web; in this way it establishes a profile based on them. Advertising and personalization cookies: Advertising cookies manage the spaces intended for the advertising of products and services on the web. Finally, we have the personalization ones; These allow the web to generate a personalized experience for the user, as well as adapt the language and much more.
How to hide annoying cookie messages in Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Opera and Edge
Internet Cookies There is a way to bypass the annoying messages that appear on web pages about accepting cookies. To get rid of them, you just have to install this useful extension in your Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Edge or Safari browser.
Open the official website of Ninja Cookie, the extension which will allow you to skip the messages. Scroll down and select from the list of browsers the one to which you want to install the extension. Once you install it, Ninja Cookie will automatically respond to the cookie request on the websites you visit. On Android you can also get rid of these cookie ads. You just have to download a browser that supports extensions and proceed to install Ninja Cookie as if it were a desktop browser. In this case we can recommend Kiwi Browser.
If you have an iPhone or iPad, you can also block cookie pop-ups using extensions for Safari. In this case we recommend Roadblock – Content Blocker, an extension that can be downloaded directly from the Apple App Store. Although in the case of iOS or iPadOS, you will have to pay to enable this specific function.
