DIGITAL CITIZEN’S BLOG

Accepting Cookies

"Click on our cookie policy to find out more"

Let's face it, we are quick to just accept and move on instead of reading a policy on what cookies are in place. Besides, if it's to enhance our experience, can it really be that bad?

What are online cookies?

No, we are not referring to the enticing baked goods we all love to snack. Cookies are pieces of information that are saved about you when you visit a website. They help companies track you as you browse the web.

Let's take for example a shopping website you enter your details on. A first party cookie (that are placed by the shop owners) can save your location/zip code. Sometimes for ease, this can even be your address. This means that the next time you log in, all your details are right there.

But the part of this that gets tricky, is with third party cookies. Advertisers can add in cookies on sites you frequently visit to track your behaviour in order to cater advertisements you are more likely to click on. Even after leaving the original site, these cookies follow you and monitor what you're upto online.

Let's say you are into smartphones, third party cookies can track your google searches, websites you largely spend your time on, and drop in ads on Facebook that you are more interested in clicking.

You would have recently seen a surge in websites requesting consent form users regarding their cookie policy, and this is largely due to regulations coming in force in countries abroad that protect data. But the question still remains, just how much of our personal information, behavioural patterns, and interests do companies world wide know? Should there be stricter laws in place that prevent this or does this make the internet experience more smoother?


Next time you consent to a cookie policy, think twice.

#digitalcitizen #digitalcitizenship #cookies #dataprivacy #onlinesafety

*Check the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which was enacted in the European Union in May 2018 for more information.

*Information sourced: https://www.vox.com/recode/2019/12/10/18656519/what-are-cookies-website-tracking-gdpr-privacy