Tracking cookies send targeted ads to websites you visit. The goal is to persuade you to return to sites you visited or buy products from advertisers that you've clicked on before.
If you usebrowserssuch as Chrome,Safari, Internet Explorer, Firefox, or Microsoft edge on a daily basis, yourdevices are probably filled with cookies.Cookiesare small textfiles containing data about youand your onlinebrowsing activity that websites save to your browser.
For instance, when you visityourfavourite weather site, a cookie might remember that yousearchedfor the temperatures in Mumbai last week. So, when you log backon, the site willshow "Mumbai" as a recommended city for yournext weather search, saving you some time.
Or maybe you log onto anonlinestore. A cookie will remember your log-in information so thatyou won’thave to retype it or enter the credentials each time you want to buy new shoes.Cookies can also be helpful in getting similar product recommendations to yourpreference when visiting the site again.
There are two main typesofcookies, first-party and third-party. First-party cookies are saved by thewebsites you initially visit. On the other hand, Third-party cookies originatefrom sites that you aren'tcurrently on. It’s these third-party cookiesthat are also known astracking cookiesbecause they can track you andyour online activities as you roam the internet.
Tracking cookies are theones thatsend targeted ads to websites that you visit, to persuade you to return tosites you visited in the past, buy products fromadvertisers that you'veclicked on before, or from entirely new sites that forward ads for marketingpurposes. But are they dangerous? It all dependson how much you valueyour privacy when browsing the web.
How do tracking cookies work?
As mentioned before, tracking cookiesare primarilyused for marketing and advertising purposes. The ultimate goalis to increase the oddsthat users will purchase theirproductsor services.
Say you’re about totake a roadtrip to the mountains. First, you might start searching the websitesofattractions, restaurants, and hotels around your destination. You mayeven log onto those sites to get more information about the area.
Then, later when you surf onto your favouritenews sites, entertainment blogs, andsocialmediasites, you might start getting ads from the same hotels andattractions. This is how third-partytracking cookies work: The sites youvisit save them on your browser, andsend targeted ads to you as you navigatethe web.
What information do tracking cookiesstore?
Because tracking cookiesare usedmainly by companies that want to market their products or services, they mostlystore information about your online browsing activity to send reliable adsaccording to your previous choices.
These types of cookies storea listof sites you've visited and track what pages you looked at when you’re on thesites.They also store any products you might have clicked on or purchasesthat you'vemade before. Again, the major goal is to gather anyinformation that makes it easierfor companies to sell you their goods andservices.
Tracking cookies alsotrack your IPaddress and your geographic location. This last bit ofinformation is vitalfor marketers that might want to show you ads forupcoming concerts orevents in your area, products convenient for your location, tickets for yourlocal cricket orfootball teams, or sales taking place at stores near you.
Are tracking cookies dangerous?
Tracking cookies gather plenty ofinformation about you. But does thismake them dangerous? That largelydepends on what you consider unsafe or risky.
These cookies won’t necessarily damageyour devices and probably won’tplacemalwareoradwareon them, that is, unless third-party sites are malicious or created bycybercriminals. So in that respect, they are safe. But suppose youdon’twant companies, government bodies, social mediasites, or any otherorganizations tracking your browsing activity. In that case, you might considertracking cookies tobe a violation of yourprivacy.
How to prevent tracking cookies
Fortunately, if youdon’t like theidea of cookies tracking your online activity, you can disablethem.
Typically, any website you visit willstore at least one cookie, a first-party cookie, on your browser, whichremembers your basic activity on the site. Whenyou visit a site for thefirst time, it will also give you the option to limitcookie activity. Inaddition, some sites will allow you to disable all third-party cookies.Ifyou want to prevent companies andsocial media sites from spying on yourbrowsing activities, select this option when sites give you a choice.
You can also set up yourbrowser so that it will automatically disable third-party tracking cookies.Thedirections to do this can differ depending on the browser you areusing.
Microsoft Edge:To disablethird-party cookies on Microsoft Edge, click the gear icon in theupper-right-hand corner. Select the “Settings”option in the next menu. Then,click “View Advanced Settings.” Find the“Cookies” heading in this menuand select “Block only third-party cookies.”
Chrome:Click the threedots in the upper right-hand corner ofthe browser. Next, click“Settings.” In this menu, click “Show advancedsettings.” Next, click onthe “Privacy” heading, and then click “Content settings …”In this menu,check the box next to “Block third-party cookies and site data.”
Firefox:Click on thethree lines in the Firefox browser’s topright-hand corner. In the"Options" menu, choose "Privacy &Security." Onthe right-hand side of the page, you’ll then see Firefox's"ContentBlocking" choices. Check the circle next to the"Custom"option. Next, select the checkbox "Cookies." After that, you canchoose "All third-party cookies" in the drop-down list.
Laws regulating tracking cookies
The days of third-party cookies might becoming to an end. Google, for instance, has announced that itwill stopusing third-party tracking cookies on its Chrome browser by 2022. This is bigbecause Chrome is the most used browser in the world.
But it’s not justprivate companiesthat are taking steps to limit third-party cookies. Governments are starting toenact legislation to create civil and criminalpenalties for companies, marketers,and others who don’t inform consumers thattheir websites use cookies.
In India, there are no particular lawsagainst the use of cookies by websites currently. However, the “InformationTechnology Act (ITA) 2000” data privacy provision has defined data protectionstandards for organizations and could enforce laws against illegal use ofcookies by the servers.1It doesn’t actually put an end to third-party cookie use, but recent laws likePDP Bill are about to be introduced, inspired by the European GDPR and similarlaws, which could potentially minimize its use.2
1https://cis-india.org/telecom/knowledge-repository-on-internet-access/internet-privacy-in-india
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