Information About Cookies
What exactly are cookies?
A cookie is a text file that stores some information for a limited period of time. Most websites use cookies. These are automatically downloaded and saved by your browser when you first visit a website. A cookie contains at least two elements; the name of the file and its value. Cookies usually have self-destruction dates that are determined by their desired lifetime. In this context, cookies are also divided into session cookies and persistent cookies. Session cookies are automatically deleted immediately at the end of that browsing session. Persistent cookies, on the other hand, remain on the end device you use for their predefined lifetime. However, they disappear at the end of the predefined period. Such cookies remember your setting preferences when you visit that website again.
Are cookies bad?
There is no definitive answer to this question. It depends on which of the information on the website the cookies store and which they do not, and what this information is ultimately used for. You can think of these cookies like a tool, for example a hammer or a saw. In principle, they are intended to be useful, but they can also be misused. It is therefore useful to make distinctions and decide which cookies are necessary and important for you and which should not be saved. You should then adjust your device's cookie settings accordingly.
What are cookies actually needed for?
Cookies are supposed to make website visits easier and more user-friendly. For example, when you shop online, they enable the website to "remember" the items in your cart the next time you visit, or to automatically display the page with your preferred layout and font size. However, not all cookies are useful or particularly beneficial to the user. For example, tracking cookies are used to track your behavior on websites and place advertisements accordingly or to make the website more user-friendly. It is therefore important to think carefully about which cookies to accept and which to reject. To make this decision, it is useful to learn the types of cookies.
What types of cookies are there?
Functional cookies are cookies that are strictly necessary for basic functions in the operation of the website. Without them, the website cannot be used as intended. They also ensure that when a page is changed from http to https, the correct functionality is provisioned and therefore increased security conditions are met. These cookies collect anonymized information (cannot be linked to your identity) and cannot track your movements on other websites. They fall into the category of session cookies as they are only stored during the session. The use of these cookies does not require your consent. First-party cookies are cookies that are not strictly necessary for using a website according to the legal definition. However, they perform important tasks to improve your browsing experience. For example, they ensure that your language and similar setting preferences are saved. The information in these cookies can only be used on the website to which they belong Performance cookies are cookies that collect information about
how a site is used by a visitor, for example, which pages they visit most frequently and whether error messages are displayed. These cookies do not store any other information. They are only used to increase user-friendliness and to tailor websites specifically to the individual user. This information is only stored anonymously. If there is third-party content integrated into a website, that third party may use some cookies even if you have not directly accessed its website. Such cookies are called third-party cookies. These cookies may be used by that third party to collect information about you as a user and to recognize you when you visit its own website and to provide you with a customized website. This may be the case, for example, if a website you visit contains a YouTube video. If cookies are used for marketing purposes, they are referred to as marketing cookies. They are used to provide the user with relevant and tailored advertisements. Another use is to determine how often an advertisement appears and the effectiveness of the advertising campaign.
