What is a cookie?

A cookie is a harmless text file that is stored in your browser when you visit almost any website. The purpose of the cookie is for the website to remember your visit when you return to browse that page. Although many people are unaware of it, cookies have been used for 20 years, since the first web browsers for the World Wide Web appeared.

What is NOT a cookie?

It is not a virus, Trojan, worm, spam, spyware, or pop-up window opener.

What information does a cookie store?

Cookies do not usually store sensitive information about you, such as credit card or banking data, photos, your ID, or personal information, etc. The data they store is technical in nature, personal preferences, content customization, etc.

The web server does not associate you with a person but rather with your web browser. In fact, if you regularly browse with Internet Explorer and try to browse the same website with Firefox or Chrome, you will notice that the website does not recognize you as the same person because it associates with the browser, not the person.

What types of cookies are there?

• Technical cookies: These are the most basic and allow, among other things, to know when a human or an automated application is browsing, when an anonymous user and a registered user are browsing, basic tasks for the operation of any dynamic website.
• Analytical cookies: These collect information about the type of browsing you are doing, the sections you use the most, products consulted, usage time, language, etc.
• Advertising cookies: These display advertising based on your browsing, your country of origin, language, etc.

What are first-party and third-party cookies?

First-party cookies are generated by the page you are visiting, and third-party cookies are generated by external services or providers such as Facebook, Google, etc.

What happens if I disable cookies?

To understand the scope of disabling cookies, we will show you some examples:

• You will not be able to share content from this website on Facebook or any other social network.
• The website will not be able to adapt the content to your personal preferences, as online stores usually do.
• You will not be able to access the personal area of this website, such as “My Account,” “My Profile,” or “My Orders.”
• Online stores: You will be unable to make online purchases; they will have to be made by phone or by visiting the physical store if there is one.
• You will not be able to customize your geographical preferences, such as time zone, currency, or language.
• The website will not be able to perform web analytics on visitors and traffic on the web, which will hinder the competitiveness of the site.
• You will not be able to write in the blog, upload photos, post comments, rate or score content. The website will also not be able to tell if you are a human or an automated application that posts spam.
• Targeted advertising cannot be displayed, which will reduce the website’s advertising revenue.
• All social networks use cookies; if you disable them, you will not be able to use any social network.

Can cookies be deleted?

Yes. You can not only delete them but also block them, either in general or specifically for a specific domain.

To delete cookies from a website, you need to go to your browser’s settings, where you can search for those associated with the specific domain and proceed to delete them.

Cookie settings for the most popular browsers

Below, we explain how to access a specific cookie in the Chrome browser. Note: these steps may vary depending on the browser version.

• Go to Settings or Preferences through the File menu or by clicking on the customization icon that appears in the upper right corner.
• You will see different sections; click on the option “Show advanced options.”
• Go to Privacy, Content Settings.
• Select All cookies and site data.
• A list will appear with all the cookies sorted by domain.
• To make it easier to find cookies from a particular domain, enter part or all of the address in the Search cookies field.
• After applying this filter, one or more lines with the cookies from the requested website will appear on the screen. Now you just have to select it and press the X to proceed with its deletion.

To access cookie settings in the Internet Explorer browser, follow these steps (they may vary depending on the browser version):

• Go to Tools, Internet Options.
• Click on Privacy.
• Move the slider to adjust the level of privacy you want.

To access cookie settings in the Firefox browser, follow these steps (they may vary depending on the browser version):

• Go to Options or Preferences, depending on your operating system.
• Click on Privacy.
• In History, choose Use custom settings for history.
• Now you will see the option Accept cookies; you can enable or disable it according to your preferences.

To access cookie settings in the Safari browser for OSX, follow these steps (they may vary depending on the browser version):

• Go to Preferences, then Privacy.
• Here, you will see the Block cookies option to adjust the type of blocking you want to perform.

To access cookie settings in the Safari browser for iOS, follow these steps (they may vary depending on the browser version):

• Go to Settings, then Safari.
• Go to Privacy and Security; you will see the option Block cookies to adjust the type of blocking you want to perform.

To access cookie settings in the browser for Android devices, follow these steps (they may vary depending on the browser version):

• Run the browser and press the Menu key, then Settings.
• Go to Security and Privacy; you will see the Accept cookies option to enable or disable it.

To access cookie settings in the browser for Windows Phone devices, follow these steps (they may vary depending on the browser version):

• Open Internet Explorer, then More, then Settings.
• Now you can enable or disable the Allow cookies option.