Internet Online Cookies – Should you Allow or Block Browser Cookies?

Written By Irfan Hayat

Are Website Cookies the Only Way to Analyze Browsing History of User?

Watch video for example of an Online Cookie.

Other than cookies, website servers and browsers have many other ways, for analyzing browsing behavior of users, such as device identifiers (such as IDFA by Apple), URL query strings, IP address of the user, HTTP authentication, and browser cache. Therefore, it can be just a dream for getting absolute privacy when using internet. If you are too sensitive about your privacy, then it is better to avoid the internet altogether.

Website cookies are not the only way to analyze your browsing behaviors. So, no need to worry about cookies.

EU Legislation About Cookies

EU has enacted populist and unwise privacy legislation (GDPR) based on wrong and misguided propaganda. The legislation makes it mandatory for site owners to inform the users and take their consent for placement of cookies. How this ‘consent’ can save a foolish user when one blocks all cookies in browser but at the same time does not pay heed to the warning of browser and opens malicious links, compromising not only privacy but security of vital financial credentials?

Cookie notices served by websites to users are nothing more than just a legal formality. These provide no real value to a user. Compliance of the privacy laws is either low or mere cosmetic.

Users must educate themselves, for not entering banking credentials on suspicious websites. Users must always check authenticity of a website or business, on review forums (such as Google, Facebook) before buying anything online. Cookies themselves do not steal your credit cards; you yourself may provide such vital information, due to your poor understanding of internet as well as lacking personal capabilities for checking the authenticity of an online business. Cookies have no access to your vital information and browsers can better guard your important personal information.

Difference Between First-Party and Third-Party Cookies

First-party cookies are placed by the primary website you visited, and third party-cookies are those placed by any other advertiser, showing ads on the webpage of the first-party website.

For example, you are reading an article on the website of Business Insider then the cookies placed by Business Insider are first-party cookies. However, on the same page of Business Insider, you are also seeing ads from Taboola Feed or DoubleClick and cookies placed by them on your device are called third-party cookies.

Mostly first-party websites earn money by allocating ad space on their websites to serve ads from third party advertisers.

Why Websites Want to Know Your Browsing Habits?

Website owner or advertiser want to know interests and likes of a user and then based on those interests, website or advertising platform will show you the personalized ads which may benefit all, including user, advertiser, and site owner. Websites or advertisers use cookies, mainly to display ads for selling specific products or services to targeted audience.

Google is testing Privacy Sandbox to strike a balance between privacy of users and needs of advertisers. You can type or paste the link (chrome://settings/privacySandbox) in Chrome browser and press Enter to join the program.

Example of Tracking by Cookies

Cookies, usually track the browsing behavior of a user to show relevant ads. You can compare it with ‘Like’ button of Facebook. For example, if you liked some videos related to dance, Facebook algo will record your interests and preferences and will show you more videos of dance in coming days, relevant to your interests.

Similarly, cookies record behavior of a user on multiple websites and determine the preferences and likes of the user and tailor the personalized ads for the user.

You are still tracked, even if you block all cookies, through multiple other sources such as IP addresses and user databases.

Benefits of Allowing Cookies

It may wonder you but in fact allowing website cookies has more advantages.

  • Easier and automatic login into your favorite websites. For example, I have customized Chrome and Edge browsers in my system to open the same websites on startup where I had left yesterday before going to sleep. I can start my work from where I had finished. Websites are automatically logged-in with help of saved cookies. Browser saves the cookies for all websites opened at the time of closing window, so that those cookies can help for instant login on next start of browser.

  • Fast loading of webpages.

  • Through cookies, websites can remember your preferences and deliver optimized, fast, and focused website browsing experience, especially on ecommerce websites.

  • Through cookies, website servers can authenticate the access to a legit user and deny the access to a suspicious or unwanted user.

  • Through cookies, browser and web server can communicate effectively in defining the correct intended device to serve the webpage. Browsers share the IP address of the user device and other basic information such as browser version, operating system, and location of the user, with the remote server for secure and intended transmission of content from server to user device.

Disadvantages of Blocking Third-Party Cookies

Here are some disadvantages if a user blocks cookies from third-party websites in browser.

Internet Cookies – Should you Allow or Block Browser Cookies? Measures to Secure Online Presence

  • If you have blocked third-party cookies, your access to a site or some of its content may be denied.

  • You will see irrelevant ads which can be useless for you.

  • By blocking third-party cookies, in fact you are using internet in abnormal way and as a result you will experience abnormal browsing experience with some part of webpage loading slowly or not loading at all.

  • When third-party cookies are blocked, you will be shown irritant privacy or cookie notices, each time you open a website.

  • According to Google, when you block third-party cookies, webpages are not prefetched, making your browsing experience slow. [RD]

What Happens with Cookies when Browser Preloads a Webpage in Background?

Preload is great browser feature for fast browsing and improved user experience. Web browsers preload certain webpages based many factors including the navigation history of the user.

According to official documents of Google, when Chrome browser preloads (downloads) a webpage in background, relevant cookies of the website are also set and can be read by the website server, even if you did not actually decided to visit that page. [RD]

It means that your device may have cookies set for the websites, which you have not visited but preloaded by the browser predictively based on your previous actions or interests.

It happens when browser prefetches a website for you on prediction that you may visit the webpage in next action but you decide not to visit that page.

You can control preload feature in browser settings of Edge or Chrome, but I will strongly suggest you keep it turned ON for your own fast browsing experience.

What Happens with Cookies when you Want Browser to Open Same Webpages on Startup?

According to Google, when you select ‘Continue where you left off’ option in settings of Chrome browser, the session cookies for those web links are saved by browser so that when you reopen browser the next, you can easily browse those websites in the logged-in state.

Thus, browsing session for the webpages is effectively and automatically extended by the browser. In this mode, browser does not delete session cookies at the end of session.

Session cookies are required to securely login to websites.

On mobile phone devices, ‘Continue where you left off’ feature is always enabled without a setting, thus saving the session cookies in mobile phones. [RD]

By EU privacy laws, a website cannot refuse its service or access if a user declines to accept the cookie notice. However, in practice, this rule often has no compliance. After all a user wants to get benefit from a website which is a property of someone else. Your browser may have already downloaded in background, the web assets including third-party cookies even before you accepted the cookie notice.

Some websites decline the access to the required webpage. Some websites behave abnormally, or you are unable to use some of the site features.

Most websites will show ads to user even if one has declined the cookie notification. Websites server try to use your previously stored data to show you relevant ads. Some websites may use your data procured from other channels or database providers or purchased from data brokers to show you relevant ads. Some websites may direct you to other website of the same brand. Though other sources cannot provide precise ad targeting as cookies can provide, so websites will still show you ads, but those ads may be irrelevant, and useless for the user.

You will continue to see the nuisance of cookie notice until you accept it.

To make your life easier, just accept the notice and browse conveniently while trusting your browser for security of your vital information.

Conclusion

Cookies are integral part of web environment and unfortunately unavoidable. Websites cannot function properly without cookies. Privacy notices by websites are mere a legal obligation.

If you are too sensitive about sharing your location and basic personal information, the possible way for you is avoiding the internet at all and completely refraining yourself from opening websites. As it is not possible to disconnect in today’s connected world, therefore you should accept the reality of cookies and learn to live with them.

Third-party cookies have no access to your vital private information such as passwords and credit cards, and updated versions of modern browsers can better safeguard such information. Third-party cookies are generally interested only in tracking your browsing behavior and you should not worry too much about sharing your basic information – such as location, interests, preferences and browsed sites – with third-party cookies. If you can browse most sites smoothly by blocking third-party cookies, you have the option to block third-party cookies in settings of your browser.

When on mobile devices you cannot use some apps without sharing your location, camera, microphone, and contacts list, so you should not worry too much about privacy of your basic information while browsing websites in browser.

More Resources

Following resources might be helpful for you.

Irfan Hayat

As the Founder and CEO of DOZRO and various other ventures, I bring a wealth of diverse life experiences to the forefront. At heart, I am a passionate tech enthusiast. Feel free to explore our range of Pro Services, such as website and graphics design, SEO, and video editing, with confidence.

https://www.dozro.com/irfan-hayat
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