More information about cookies

A cookie is a harmless text file that is stored in your browser when you visit almost any website. A cookie allows the website to remember your visit when you return to that page. Although many people do not know it, cookies have been used for 20 years, since the first World Wide Web browsers appeared.

It is not a virus, Trojan, worm, spam or spyware, nor does it open pop-up windows.

Cookies do not usually store sensitive information about you, such as credit card or bank details, photographs, identity documents or personal information. The data they store is technical and may include personal preferences, content customisation and similar information.

The web server associates this information with your web browser, not with you as a person. In fact, if you usually browse with Internet Explorer and then visit the same website with Firefox or Chrome, the website will not realise that you are the same person because it associates the information with the browser, not the individual.

• Technical cookies: These are the most basic cookies. Among other things, they make it possible to determine whether a human or an automated application is browsing, and whether an anonymous or registered user is browsing—tasks that are essential to the operation of any dynamic website.
• Analytics cookies: These collect information about how you browse, the sections you use most, the products you view, your hours of use, language and similar details.
• Advertising cookies: These display advertising based on your browsing activity, country of origin, language and similar information.

First-party cookies are generated by the page you are visiting, while third-party cookies are generated by external services or providers such as Facebook, Twitter and Google.

Here are some examples to help you understand the potential effects of disabling cookies:

• You will not be able to share content from that website on Facebook, Twitter or any other social network.
• The website will not be able to adapt its content to your personal preferences, as online shops often do.
• You will not be able to access the website's personal area, such as My account, My profile or My orders.
• Online shops: You will be unable to make purchases online and will have to order by telephone or visit a physical shop, if one is available.
• Your geographical preferences, such as time zone, currency or language, cannot be customised.
• The website will be unable to perform analytics on visitors and web traffic, making it harder for the site to remain competitive.
• You will not be able to write on the blog, upload photos, post comments, or rate content. The website will also be unable to determine whether you are a human or an automated application posting spam.
• Targeted advertising cannot be displayed, reducing the website's advertising revenue.
• All social networks use cookies; if you disable them, you will not be able to use any social network.

Yes. They can be deleted or blocked, either generally or specifically for a particular domain.

To delete a website's cookies, go to your browser settings, find those associated with the domain in question and delete them.

Here is how to access a specific cookie in the Chrome browser. Please note that these steps may vary depending on your browser version:

1. Open Settings or Preferences from the File menu, or click the customisation icon at the top right.
2. You will see several sections; select Show advanced settings.
3. Go to Privacy, then Content settings.
4. Select All cookies and site data.
5. A list of all cookies, sorted by domain, will appear. To find the cookies for a particular domain more easily, enter part or all of its address in the Search cookies field.
6. After applying this filter, one or more rows containing the requested website's cookies will appear. Select a row and click the X to delete it.

To access cookie settings in Internet Explorer, follow these steps (they may vary depending on the browser version):

1. Go to Tools, then Internet Options.
2. Click Privacy.
3. Move the slider to your preferred privacy level.

To access cookie settings in Firefox, follow these steps (they may vary depending on the browser version):

1. Go to Options or Preferences, depending on your operating system.
2. Click Privacy.
3. Under History, select Use custom settings for history.
4. You will now see the Accept cookies option, which you can enable or disable according to your preferences.

To access cookie settings in Safari for OS X, follow these steps (they may vary depending on the browser version):

1. Go to Preferences, then Privacy.
2. You will see the Block cookies option, where you can choose your preferred type of blocking.

To access cookie settings in Safari for iOS, follow these steps (they may vary depending on the browser version):

1. Go to Settings, then Safari.
2. Go to Privacy & Security. You will see the Block cookies option, where you can choose your preferred type of blocking.

To access browser cookie settings on Android devices, follow these steps (they may vary depending on the browser version):

1. Open the browser and press the Menu button, then Settings.
2. Go to Security & Privacy. You will see the Accept cookies option, which you can enable or disable.

To access browser cookie settings on Windows Phone devices, follow these steps (they may vary depending on the browser version):

1. Open Internet Explorer, then More, then Settings.
2. You can now enable or disable the Allow cookies option.