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More information about cookies

What they are and how we use them

What is a cookie?

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

What a cookie is not

It is not a virus, a Trojan horse, a worm, spam or spyware, and it does not open pop-up windows.

What information does a Cookie store?

Cookies do not usually store sensitive information about you such as credit card or bank details, photographs, your ID or personal information, etc. The data they store is more technical in nature: personal preferences, content personalisation, etc. The server does not associate the information with you as a person but rather with your web browser. In fact, if you usually browse with Internet Explorer and then try to browse the same website with Firefox or Chrome, you will see that it does not realise you are the same person because it is actually associating the browser, not the person.

What are the different types of cookies?

  • Technical cookies: These are the most basic cookies. Among other things, they can detect whether a human or an automated application is browsing and whether an anonymous user or a registered user is browsing, basic tasks for the operation of any dynamic website.
  • Analysis cookies: They collect information about the type of browsing, the sections used most by the user, the products consulted, time slots, language, etc.
  • Advertising cookies: They display advertising based on your browsing, your country of origin, language, etc.

What are first-party and third-party cookies?

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

What happens if I disable cookies?

Here are some examples to help you understand the effects that disabling cookies can have :

  • You will not be able to share content from the website on Facebook, Twitter or any other social media network.
  • The website will not be able to adapt the content to your personal preferences, as online stores usually do.
  • You will not be able to access the personal areas of the website such as My account, My profile or My orders.
  • Online stores: You will not be able to make purchases online. It will have to be by telephone or by visiting the physical store, if there is one.
  • It will not be possible to customise your geographical preferences such as time zone, currency or language.
  • The website will not be able to perform web analytics on visitors and web traffic, which will make it difficult for the website to be competitive.
  • You will not be able to write on the blog, upload photos, post comments, evaluate or rate content. The website will not be able to discern whether you are a human or an automated application posting spam.
  • The website will not be able to display targeted advertising, which will reduce its advertising revenue.
  • All social media networks use cookies. If you disable them, you will not be able to use any social media network.

Can cookies be deleted?

Yes. Not only deleted, but also blocked, in general or for a particular domain. To delete the cookies on a website, go to your browser settings, search for the ones associated with the domain in question, and delete them.

How to configure cookies for the most common browsers?

Below we explain how to access a particular cookie in the Chrome browser. Note: these steps may vary depending on the browser version:

  1. Go to Settings or Preferences via the File menu or by clicking on the customisation icon at the top right.
  2. You will see different sections. Click on Show advanced options.
  3. Go to Privacy, Content settings.
  4. Select All cookies and site data.
  5. A list will appear with all cookies sorted by domain. To make it easier to find the cookies of a particular domain, enter part or all of the address in the Find cookies
  6. After enabling this filter, one or more lines with the cookies for the requested website will appear on the screen. Simply select them and press X to eliminate them.

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

  1. Go to Tools, Internet Options.
  2. Click on Privacy.
  3. Move the slider to the desired privacy level.

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

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

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

  1. Go to Settings, then Safari.
  2. Go to Privacy and Security. When you see the Block Cookies option, you can set your blocking preferences.

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

  1. Launch the browser and press the Menu key, then Settings.
  2. Go to Security and Privacy, then check or uncheck the box under the Accept Cookies

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

  1. Launch the browser and press the Menu key, then Settings.
  2. Go to Security and Privacy, then check or uncheck the box under the Accept Cookies

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

  1. Open Internet Explorer, then More, then Settings.
  2. You can now check or uncheck the Allow cookies
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