About cookies

A ‘cookie’ is a small text file that a website asks to be saved on the visitor’s computer. Cookies are used on many websites to allow visitors to use various functions. Information contained in cookies can also be used to track the surfing of a user on websites that use the same cookie.

There are two kinds of cookie. One kind saves the file for a long time on the visitor’s computer; this cookie has an expiry date. When the expiry date has passed, the cookie is deleted when the user returns to the website that created it. The second kind of cookie is called a ‘session cookie’ and does not have an expiry date. This cookie is temporarily stored in the memory of a user’s computer while the user is surfing on a site, for example to keep track of which language the user has chosen. A session cookie is not stored in the user’s computer for a long period of time, but disappears when the user shuts down their web browser.