What are cookies?

Cookies do not just contain standard information such as language preferences or logged-in statuses. They contain specific details such as a unique identifier, expiration time and the domain of the website that placed them. These details allow websites to optimize and personalize the user experience for each unique visitor.

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What cookies are there?

There are different types of cookies:

Essential cookies: These are crucial to the proper functioning of a website. For example, they store that you are logged in.

Performance Cookies: These track statistics, such as the number of visitors, to improve the website.

Functional cookies: These remember your preferences, such as language settings or font size.

Tracking cookies: These track your online behavior for targeted advertising.

Want to know more about the different types of cookies on a site, including the difference between first-party and third-party cookies? Then read more about the different types of cookies here.

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Why are cookies mandatory?

Cookies are not always required, but they are essential for certain functionalities. These are referred to as "necessary" or "functional" cookies in a cookie banner. These cookies are necessary for a good user experience by remembering information and facilitating navigation. Imagine placing an item in your shopping cart and having to perform this action again the next time you visit the site. Necessary cookies ensure that this is not necessary. Read more about mandatory cookies here.

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Why is a cookie banner required?

As a result of international legislation, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (AVG) and ePrivacy in the EU, websites are required to ask permission to use certain cookies. Visitors must be given the option to not be tracked to ensure their online privacy by being able to refuse advertising, analytical, performance and tracking cookies. For more information on cookie banners, you can continue reading here.

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How do you set up a cookie banner?

A cookie banner informs visitors about the use of cookies and offers the opportunity to consent or reject cookies. This banner should clearly explain which cookies are used and for what purposes. Several solutions are available for setting up a cookie banner:

• Specialized cookie banner tools
• Content Management System (CMS) plugins
• Google Tag Manager combined with server-side tagging

It is important that the cookie banner is both legally compliant and user-friendly. A properly set cookie banner helps with privacy compliance and provides transparency to your visitors. Want to know more about how to do that? Then read more about setting up a cookie banner here.

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How do you delete cookies?

As a user, you have control over your own cookies. Per website, you can delete your stored cookies, so on the sites where you want to delete them you can do this yourself. Deleting your cookies has both advantages and disadvantages, so think carefully about which pages you delete your cookies on. There are several ways to do this easily through your browser's privacy settings, using a browser extension or by managing your device's site data in your browser. Need a roadmap for deleting cookies? You can find those here.

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What cookies does my website use?

Each website may use different cookies depending on its purpose and functionalities. You can see which cookies are used by:

• Inspect the site via your browser's developer tools
• Next to the address bar view cookies and site data
• Review the website's privacy statement or cookie banner

If you want to know how to perform these steps, read more about researching what cookies your site uses here.

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Which cookies should you reject to avoid unwanted advertising?

There is no one type of cookie you can reject to prevent all unwanted advertising. However, you can reject tracking or advertising cookies. These cookies track your online behavior for targeted advertising. Refusing them does result in less personalized experiences. The ads you see may not match what you need or want to see. So the question is: What is unwanted advertising for you? Is it impersonal advertising or all online advertising in general? For more information on rejecting cookies to avoid unwanted advertising, you can read more here.

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Cookies play a crucial role in everyone's online experience. They are responsible not only for targeting the content of a website, but also for maintaining the functionality of many websites. By being intentional about cookie settings, visitors' online privacy can be better managed while also benefiting from a personalized Internet experience.