When you hear the word ‘cookies’ in the digital world, the first thought that might come to mind is your gran’s all-time favourite choc-chip recipe. Others may recall that annoying pop-up that blocks your browsing experience while attempting to look up the ingredients for that very recipe. The latter, though, would be more accurate in this regard. But what are they and how do they influence your privacy?
What is a Cookie?
Cookies were first implemented in 1994 as part of the Netscape Navigator web browser but became more popular in their use case during the early 2000s when Google and other companies realised the value that the information stored by these cookies could add to the advertising market.
Today it is more commonly referred to as an HTTP cookie and it is a piece of code embedded into websites that helps them to improve their functionality and the overall experience for the end-user.
In short, cookies collect data. It’s as simple as that. Now you could say that “all cookies are equal, but some cookies are more equal than others” in an adjusted quote from the book Animal Farm which so perfectly contrasts the equality ratio between users’ privacy and how it is respected in today’s digital economy.
To simplify the understanding of cookies below is a shortened list of the types of cookies and their general purposes:
> Session cookies are only active as long as the user browses the website and disappears once they leave the page.
> Tracking cookies can keep long-term records of the user’s activity which is especially useful for multiple visits to the same website.
> Authentication cookies track whether a user has logged in and if so, under which username.
> Third-party tracking cookies give more reason for concern as third-party entities can track user activity online without their knowledge˙.
> Persistent cookies expire after a set period or at a prespecified date. It only collects (tracks) data when the user visits the website to which it is linked.
> Secure cookies can only be transferred over an encrypted connection — HTTPS — and are created in this way to avoid data theft by bad actors.
> HTTP-only cookies cannot be accessed by client-side APIs such as Javascript but is still vulnerable to cross-site tracing (XST) and cross-site request forgery (CSRF) attacks˙˙.
How does this relate to Privacy?
Nearly all websites today have a pop-up asking for users’ consent to the use of cookies, and some even go as far as to offer customization of these cookie settings.
Sadly, no one takes the time to read through the privacy policies of these websites to figure out what data is being collected. In the time-sensitive reality that we live in today, there is little to no time that we would like to waste on reading the legal jargon that litters the pages of these policies. Instead, it is easier to just accept the terms and go on with our browsing.
This is the bargaining chip that marketers bet on, that users would choose to waive reading the lengthy document pertaining to how their data would be used and agree to the terms. The reason for this is mainly to fund advertising. Not with money, but with data. A user’s browsing data can tell you a lot about their personality, preferences and physical reality. This data serves as a goldmine for data brokers and advertisers who aim to target their advertising at just about anyone and everyone online.
How can protect my Data?
Due to the functionality of HTTP cookies being a necessity for most websites to operate in today’s digital ecosystem, it is near impossible to rid of them altogether unless alternatives are implemented universally. Ideally having only first-party cookies would be the perfect solution to the problem, but this is not yet a reality.
The easiest way to minimize your exposure online when working with cookies is to decline them if such an option is available. Another way is to use privacy-focused applications such as the Brave browser which automatically blocks XST along with a search engine such as Startpage.
What is the Solution?
Fortunately, with the implementation of the GDPR and CCPA regulations in 2018 and 2019 respectively, digital users have gained more legal control over their privacy and how their digital footprint affects their lives. Unfortunately, not many know how to take action and the marketing industry continues to flourish.
There are companies that are doing their best to mitigate the effects of the cookie on users, for example, Permission which rewards users for their consent to sharing their data. Whilst trying to obliterate the idea of the third-party cookie system as the world migrates into Web3, Nerian Network takes a different approach to the situation.
Realising the long-term effects that third-party cookies have had on digital users, and the number of years that it would take to see this method of data collection crumble, Nerian has decided to take on a proactive approach. By enabling users to recall their digital footprints, created by their online activity, at will and then deciding whether they would like to monetize their data by selling it back to advertisers who can then make more relevant and targeted ads, keeping their data indefinitely, or destroying their footprint altogether as if it never even existed.
Presenting users with these choices, Nerian aims to target a larger market of digital users in the race to make privacy a choice, not a crime.
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Disclaimer
This article is not a property of the Nerian Network but the writer and is subject to information intended for educational purposes. No part of this article is or should be viewed as financial advice.
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