What is a cookie?
You know the situation: everytime you visit a new website, this banner appears out of nowhere and asks you if you want to accept, set or refuse cookies. It can be extremely annoying and many people probably just click “accept all”, so that they can visit the website quickly. But let’s unpack why this encounter with the cookie acceptance form is actually good for your data. In this article you will learn more about online cookies and what you can do to bypass cookie notice forms across the web using the best available privacy tools.
What is an online cookie?
An online cookie is a small text file which is automatically generated by the server of the internet website you’re visiting. This file is always automatically sent to your browser whenever you access the website. The cookie or the small file is then stored on your computer’s hard drive, temporarily or permanently.
Cookies have been around the internet for a long time, but the cookie banners we run into online are more recent. We see this for example in the E.U. where due to the new privacy regulations of the GDPR, it is now mandatory to inform website visitors about the data collection through cookies.
Fun fact: the little text files are called cookies because they leave crumbs or trails behind. But unlike the tasty cookies you eat, cookies on the internet leave crumbs of information about you and this information is actually private and to some people worth a lot of money.
What are cookies used for?
First-party cookies
First-party cookies are the cookies sent to your browser by the website you visit. They allow the website editor to know when you came, the pages consulted, the time spent on them, and all the different actions you might have done on the website. These are behavioral data that allow the website editor to have statistics (number of visits, attendance per day, week, month etc.).
All data provided by first-party cookies is viewable and usable only by the website editor, if the website editor has carefully chosen the services used on the website, this might be respectful of your privacy.
Third-party cookies
Third-party cookies are sent to your browser by advertising partners of the websites you visit. These are the cookies that will direct the advertising displayed during your browsing session by tracking the websites you have visited before. Through this behavior, targeted ads are set on the website. The idea is that these ads would most likely interest you and might lead you to click the ad.
Social media networks also depose third-party cookies. This happens for example when sharing content buttons are present on the website you’re visiting, or when you connect to the website using your Facebook, Google or Apple account.
What happens if I accept all cookies?
The “accept” button gives permission to the website or application in question to collect your browsing data and to use it. Depending on the size of the operator behind the screen, this data can be analyzed, exchanged and even monetized by all the advertising partners of the website. That means that in one single click, you can share your data with hundreds or even thousands of advertisers because you gave your “consent”. If this sounds spooky then you should read on because with Crumbs you can avoid this ever happening to you again!
How can I reject all cookies easily and keep my data protected?
In an ideal online world, it would be as easy to reject all cookies as it is to accept all cookies, but unfortunately many websites still don’t comply with this legal obligation. It can be a real burden to go on every site’s cookie banners and make a careful selection of what you’d like to accept and what not. And there’s no uniformity of banners, some are very different and even written or presented in a way to try and trick users into consenting.
With Crumbs, you can automatically block all cookie consent banners and refuse all third-party cookies so your data is not shared with advertisers and social networks. All you have to do is install Crumbs, it then allows you to browse the internet without being blocked by these annoying banners while still protecting your privacy!
