What does cookies are disabled mean?

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Are you one of those who accept all cookies when opening a website? Well, studies indicate that cookie ads with a focused overlay have an acceptance rate of 56%. But what happens when we click deactivate? To understand it, we will review what cookies are, how they work and what actually happens when we disable them.

What are cookies and what are they for?

Cookies consist of digital files that are stored in desktop or mobile browsers, and record the activity of users when they enter a web page; that is, they are in charge of saving a profile based on interactions and behavior to optimize subsequent visits. In this way, its functions include the management of:

  • Credentials: the timely identification of users to expedite their access to a specific website. For example, keep the session logged in so that you do not need to enter the username and password again.
  • Habits: the traceability of the movements executed to be restored at any time. For example, recovering a shopping cart with all your products after closing the window by mistake.
  • Advertising: the offer of advertisements or specialized content based on the information collected from your activities and interests.
  • Security: The deployment of authentication and protection measures to prevent your exposure to cyber threats.

Cookie types

Likewise, the fulfillment of the functions by the cookies is subordinated to guidelines of:

  • Origin: the programming of its commands is directly related to the website where it acts or if it belongs to external servers owned by third parties. In the first case, they are structured to improve your user experience. While the second case has digital marketing purposes.
  • Durability: Cookies are only active for the period that covers your visit to a website and disappear (temporary) or persist for a variable amount of time to ensure the availability of your user data (permanent).
  • Performance: encompasses the complex processes of the website. For example, the analysis metrics that consolidate the most viewed content, the hours of greatest user traffic, etc. It also considers the set of components that integrate the preferences of your user session, such as language, location, favorites, display modes, among others; and the technical systems that support the operation of the page that you are now visiting.

What happens if you disable cookies?

Among the implications of deactivating cookies, the following stand out:

Sessions

The removal of cookies from your browser entails the need to reactivate your usernames and passwords. This means that you will need to re-enter your login details to regain access to the websites you visit often.

On this point, social networks, emails and applications are the most affected elements, since they tend to keep sessions open. Therefore, if you want to disable cookies, make sure you remember each of your passwords so as not to lose access to your profiles.

Online preferences

It includes the return to the default parameters of the websites. In this sense, it will no longer be possible for you to view the language settings, colors, tools, publications, and other aspects that make up your personalization scheme.

For example, if you are a regular customer of an online clothing store, you will have to incorporate again your favorite choices such as discounts, sizes, garments, shipping conditions, currency and payment methods. This may not be a huge effort, but consider performing this same task on multiple platforms and web pages.

Advertising

The absence of cookies limits the storage of your user behavior, so websites would ignore information related to your personal tastes. Faced with this scenario, two realities emerge:

  • No personalized banner ads are created. So the marketing messages received will be of a generic nature.
  • No analytical data is obtained. In this case, the website loses the opportunity to integrate the data necessary to improve your user experience in the long term.

Website registration

It supposes the ignorance (on the part of the websites) of the actions that you carry out during your online journey. Consequently, you acquire a greater degree of privacy and autonomy, since none of your personal data will be archived, and with it, the possibility of being contacted for marketing or other reasons. In addition, confidentiality is one of the great digital values that is positioning itself with greater force.

Finally, knowing what cookies are for serves to get the most out of it and not suffer an invasion of privacy. In this regard, it is essential to take into account the various types that make them up and the benefits or limitations that each of them implies.