What Are Cookies? What Are They Used For?

When you visit a website, you must have noticed the cookie warnings that pop up. So, what is a cookie? Let's take a closer look at cookies, which are an integral part of how websites work.

What Are Cookies?

When you visit websites, they save a small file on your computer known as a cookie. These files store certain information about the user. This information can be used to present personalized ads or to remember user preferences the next time they visit.

Cookies were first created in 1994 as a result of the need for a virtual shopping cart in an e-commerce application developed under Netscape. Lou Montulli adapted the concept of magic cookies, already used in programming, for web applications, giving rise to web cookies.

What Do Cookies Do?

Many users have the impression that cookies are malicious and secretly track them. In reality, this is not entirely true. There can be harmful cookies, but technologically speaking, there are important reasons why cookies are used for websites to function efficiently. Cookies are generally used for session management, personalization, and tracking user behavior.

Session Management

Cookies can work as part of a website's user systems. When a user logs into a website that requires membership, information like the fact that they have logged in, their username, or the status of their shopping cart is stored as a cookie. During the same session, no matter which page is visited on the site, the information that the user is logged in can be verified by the site.

Personalization

Websites can store information like night mode, font size, or content that the user is interested in using cookies. This allows for a personalized experience on future visits.

Tracking

The use of cookies for tracking users is what leads many to view them as harmful. Cookies allow for the analysis of the time users spend on the website. This way, the website owner can gather information about their target audience.

Another use is to determine the user's interests and show targeted ads. This is where users might feel disturbed, thinking, "I searched for a product, and now I see similar product ads everywhere."

To address the situations where users feel disturbed by cookies and believe their privacy is being violated, new regulations have been introduced in recent years. Thus, websites are required to clearly state the cookies they use and their purposes. They must also obtain the user's consent to use cookies.

What Does the Use of Cookies Mean?

Websites store very small files in the user's browser to recognize the user, and these are called cookies. Websites need to use cookies to function properly. They store a file on the user's device that identifies the user and their preferences, and when the user returns, they act based on the information in this file.

Cookie usage is limited by regulations like the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) to ensure user privacy is protected. Website owners are required to inform users about the use of cookies. In our country, websites must have a cookie policy compliant with the Personal Data Protection Law (KVKK). Websites must obtain user consent for the use of cookies, and users should also be cautious when giving consent to the use of cookies.

What Are the Types of Cookies?

Cookies can be used for different purposes. In general, cookies can be divided into two groups: session cookies and persistent cookies.

Cookies can be classified based on how they are used as session and persistent cookies, and from the perspective of who uses them as first-party and third-party cookies.

Session Cookies

Also known as temporary cookies. They are stored in the computer's memory, i.e., RAM. The cookies are deleted when the session ends. Cookies that prevent users from repeatedly logging in during the same session are of this type.

Persistent Cookies

These types of cookies are stored in the device's storage units. These cookies are kept for the duration of their lifetime. Every time a user visits the website, the stored cookie is retrieved and used. Cookies used to determine user behavior fall into this category.

Another way to classify cookies is based on who uses them. In this regard, cookies can be classified as first-party and third-party cookies.

First-Party Cookies

First-party cookies are those created by the website you are currently using. They are used to ensure the website functions properly. Cookies that store the user's session information and site preferences are examples of this type of cookie.

Third-Party Cookies

Third-party cookies are those created by third-party websites other than the one the user is currently on. These cookies are used for user analysis and to offer personalized advertising services.

Other types of cookies include super cookies or zombie cookies, which cannot be deleted and reappear once deleted, and secure cookies used for security purposes.

What Are the Advantages of Cookies?

The use of cookies has many advantages for both users and website administrators. The advantages of cookies that are used correctly and not abused include:

• Although they can become annoying, ads are one of the sources of income that allow websites to continue operating. With the use of cookies, you see personalized ads.
• Personalizations you make while using websites are remembered. Information like the theme you chose or the font size is remembered.
• It helps you discover content similar to what you are interested in. Search engine results are arranged to capture your attention.

What Are the Disadvantages of Cookies?

There are some negative aspects to cookie usage. The disadvantages of using cookies are as follows:

• When used improperly, cookies can violate user privacy and security.
• They can make users feel like they are being watched.
• Malicious cookies can collect information without the user's permission.
• There are zombie cookies that act almost like malware, collecting data without the user's knowledge and storing it in multiple locations. Their storage in multiple locations causes them to reappear after being deleted.

How Are Cookies Managed?

All modern web browsers today offer options for managing cookies. You can view and delete the allowed cookies through the browser settings.

How to Enable Cookies?

When you visit a website, you are presented with a notification about cookie usage. You can view the site's cookie policies and choose which cookies to allow.

In general, you can choose whether to allow third-party cookies from the privacy and security section within your browser's settings page. You can also list the websites that have cookie permissions and edit these permissions.

How to Remove Cookies?

You can manage cookie permissions for each site individually or clear all cookies at once from the browser settings. Almost all popular browsers offer similar steps for cookie management.

Cookie Settings for Chrome

If you're using Chrome as your browser, you can access cookie-related options from the Privacy and Security section within Settings. Or you can access the relevant page by typing “chrome://settings/privacy” in the address bar.

Under Privacy and Security, you can clear all cookies at once by selecting Clear Browsing Data. From the Third-Party Cookies section, you can view and edit the currently allowed cookies. You can also determine how the browser will behave towards third-party cookies during browsing. You can block third-party cookies entirely.

Cookie Settings for Firefox

In Firefox, cookie settings are located under the Privacy and Security section within Settings. You can quickly access this section by typing “about
#privacy” in the address bar. You can clear, manage, and specify exceptions for cookies and site data from the Cookies and Site Data section. You can also set Firefox to delete cookies and site data every time it is closed.

Cookie Settings for Safari

In Safari, which can be used on Apple devices, cookie settings can be adjusted similarly. From the Settings or Preferences, go to the Privacy section. Here, you can block all website cookies or view and delete the existing cookies.

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