Cookies are used to temporarily store your data in the browser of the website you are visiting, with the aim of facilitating your web experience.
I’m sure you’ve seen the famous question on the Internet: By entering this page, do you agree to accept cookies?
What you may not know is that until a while ago they went unnoticed by all of us, but after some discussions about privacy policies, especially in the European Union, the use of cookies without the user’s knowledge was banned.
After such discussions, websites were obliged to warn users that cookies are being used to store data about their browsing, so it has become very common to receive warnings on websites about this.
Today, for a website to comply with the LGPD (General Data Protection Law), the user must be informed clearly and objectively for what purpose their data will be collected, and to make this process automatic, Cookie Notices or Cookie Banners are used. They serve to comply with the sixth principle of the law: transparency.
Cookies were invented in June 1994 by Netscape software engineer Lou Montulli, who invented HTTP cookies. Together with the help of his colleague John Giannandrea, he introduced the technology to Netscape that same year.
Cookies are text files stored by the user’s browser and store a series of information about their browsing through the pages of a website or domain.
Please note: Cookies do not steal any of your information, they only store what you have provided while browsing the site to make your experience easier.
Example
When the user accesses the site for the first time, he chooses the language of his choice, and the next time he accesses the same site, the language he selected in the first experience will automatically be selected again.
But that’s not the only function of cookies: they also store your personal data that you’ve entered while browsing in case you need to use it again, they save the data from that purchase you didn’t finish in case you want to come back later and finish the purchase you want, they keep you logged in to your e-mail, they control your computer’s user session, and they save data about all your preferences.
It’s as if your computer knows you very well, always offering you that sneaker, course, wine and various other items you like – really, it knows you SUPER well! It’s the cookies’ fault…lol
This information is highly sought after by online advertising tools. Have you ever noticed that when you search for a product on the internet, several ads for similar products or the same product “follow” you on other sites?
Yes, those are the cookies you accepted! This is remarketing, used as a strategy to avoid losing e-commerce sales.
Because remarketing was seen as invasive, cookies entered the discussion of privacy policies.
Cookies can make the browsing experience easier for some users, but can be a bit invasive for others, which is why the European Union has banned the use of cookies without the user’s knowledge.
Now the user needs to be warned that their browsing data will be saved, and they need to authorize the site to use these cookies. Do you accept cookies or not?
