Tech View: What’s all the fuss regarding cookies on your computer?

Anyone who’s surfed the internet in the past 18 months or so should have noticed a new annoyance, usually presented as a small banner at the bottom of the screen, with a message similar to “This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this site you agree to our use of cookies.” It will have links to the site’s privacy policy and a button to click signaling your acceptance. What’s all this about and how should you respond?

First, let’s talk about cookies. These are small pieces of data put on your device by websites. Cookies were invented around the same time the modern internet took off. Initially devised with good intent, they still serve some noble purposes which we’ll talk about later.

The reason why you are seeing these banners is due to a European law, known as the General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR. Enacted by the EU in mid-2018, the GDPR basically says that any storing or retrieving of information from your device must be approved by you, and, you must be told the reason and for what your data is being used.

Somewhat related, California later enacted its own law regarding the sale of personal information, The California law requires the user to be informed of and allowed to block the sale of any personal information. Since the first two w’s in “www” stand for World Wide, these regulations have a global effect. That’s why we see such notices out here in the middle of the sea.

So what should you do when presented with this option? Let’s be honest, most of us just click OK and go right on with what we were doing. Many sites don’t even have an OK button, just saying, “If you go on, we warned you,” or something similar. So your only choice is, use the site or don’t.

But many websites are more granular, giving you the option of which types of cookies to select. First, there are “strictly necessary cookies,” which you must accept or else bail out of the site. Then there are “analytics and performance cookies,” which purportedly allow the website developer to improve the site based on how you use it; “functional cookies,” which supposedly improve your experience; and “advertising and targeting cookies,” which are the ones everyone hates.

Advertising and targeting cookies are the ones that marketing folks love. They allow companies to share your browsing habits and try to hit you with ads based on where you’ve surfed. Ever had an ad pop up on Facebook right after you’ve done a Google search for a similar product? This is an example of a targeting cookie. Studies show that around 90% of web users prefer to avoid targeting cookies. But since they bring in the kala … well, we know how that goes.

Our advice is to disable targeting cookies whenever possible. Functional cookies should be enabled, while performance cookies should be disabled. In theory, performance cookies are anonymous and don’t give out your personal information, but there’s just too much room for error there. If you generally distrust the company behind the website, then disabling all cookies is a good idea. Although, if you generally distrust the company, why the heck are you on their website?

Also, be careful when making these selections. Whether intentional or not, it’s easy to make all these selections and then click “accept all cookies” by mistake.

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John Agsalud is an IT expert with more than 25 years of information technology experience. Reach him at jagsalud@live.com.