What are cookies? Cookies are files installed on a user’s device that allow the collection of certain information, including personal data in some situations, in order to fulfill various purposes. Among this information, much of it is essential for the proper and secure functioning of electronic pages and for enabling the provision of services in the digital environment. Thus, for example, the use of cookies can identify a user before carrying out an online transaction or even “remember” options previously made, such as the language used, the type of product preferred, passwords and logins used on electronic sites, as well as products that were added to the shopping cart to make a purchase. In addition, they can be used for other purposes, such as measuring the audience of a page and offering personalized advertisements. It is also worth noting that cookies allow a series of data to be stored on users’ devices. The information collected and stored by cookies may refer directly to natural persons or, even, indirectly allow their identification, for example, by making inferences and cross-referencing with other information and, sometimes, by forming behavioral profiles.
Cookie categories:
The categories for defining cookies are diverse and can come from different perspectives. In this summary, some of the most commonly used categories will be presented, in a non-exhaustive manner, organized by the most common types of cookies.
Cookies according to the entity responsible for their management:
a. Own or first-party cookies: these are cookies set directly by the website or application that the holder is visiting. First-party cookies generally cannot be used to track activity on a website other than the original website on which they were placed. These types of cookies may include information such as login credentials, shopping cart items or preferred language.
b. Third-party cookies: these are cookies created by a domain other than the one the holder is visiting. They arise from features from other domains that are incorporated into a website, such as displaying advertisements. Cookies and personal data protection, cookies according to need
c. Necessary cookies: these are those used for the website or application to perform basic functions and operate correctly. Therefore, collecting information is essential to ensure the functioning of the website or for the adequate provision of the service. Thus, the activities covered as strictly necessary include those related to the specific functionality of the service, that is, without them the user would not be able to perform the main activities of the website or application. This category is limited to what is essential to provide the service requested by the holder, not covering non-essential purposes that meet other interests of the controller.
d. Non-necessary cookies: these are cookies that do not fall under the definition of necessary cookies and whose disabling does not prevent the website or application from functioning or the use of the services by the user. In this sense, non-necessary cookies are related to non-essential features of the service, application or website. Examples of non-necessary cookies include, among others, those used to track behavior, measure the performance of the page or service, and display advertisements or other embedded content. It is worth noting that the distinction between necessary and non-necessary cookies is especially relevant for defining the legal hypothesis that authorizes the use of cookies and the collection of personal data, such as consent and legitimate interest. Cookies according to purpose. e. Analytical or performance cookies: these enable the collection of data and information about how users use the website. Cookies and the protection of personal data, more frequent visits to that website, the occurrence of errors or information about the performance of the website or application itself. f. Functionality cookies: these are used to provide the basic services requested by the user and enable the remembering of website or application preferences, such as username, region or language. Functionality cookies may include first-party, third-party, persistent or session cookies. g. Advertising cookies: these are used to collect information from the holder for the purpose of displaying advertisements. More specifically, by collecting information about the user’s browsing habits, advertising cookies allow their identification, the creation of profiles and the display of personalized advertisements according to their interests.
Cookies according to the information retention period.
h. Session or temporary cookies: These are designed to collect and store information while the data subject is using it.
