More information about Cookies

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 to allow the site to remember your visit when you return to browse that page again. Although many people are not aware of it, cookies have been used for over 20 years, since the first web browsers appeared on the World Wide Web.

What is NOT a cookie?

It is not a virus, a trojan, a worm, spam, or spyware, nor does it open pop-up windows.

What information does a cookie store?

Cookies generally do not store sensitive information about you, such as credit card or banking details, photographs, your ID, or personal information. The data they store are technical in nature, such as personal preferences, content customization, and similar settings.

The web server does not associate you as a person but rather your web browser. In fact, if you usually browse with Internet Explorer and then try visiting the same website using Firefox or Chrome, the site will not recognize you as the same person, because it is actually associating the session with the browser, not with the individual.

What types of cookies exist?

• Technical cookies: These are the most basic ones and allow, among other things, to determine when a human or an automated application is browsing, when an anonymous user or a registered one is navigating — basic tasks necessary for the functioning of any dynamic website.
• Analytics cookies: They collect information about the type of browsing you are doing, the sections you use most, products viewed, time of use, language, and so on.
• Advertising cookies: They display ads based on your browsing activity, country of origin, language, and other factors.

What are first-party and third-party cookies?

First-party cookies are those generated by the website you are visiting, while third-party cookies are created by external services or providers such as Facebook, Twitter, Google, and others.

What happens if I disable cookies?

To help you understand the impact that disabling cookies can have, here are some examples:

• You will not be able to share content from this website on Facebook, Twitter, or any other social network.
• The website will not be able to adapt its content to your personal preferences, as usually happens in online stores.
• You will not be able to access the personal area of this website, such as My Account, My Profile, or My Orders.
• Online stores: It will be impossible for you to make online purchases; they would have to be done by phone or by visiting the physical store, if there is one.
• It will not be possible to customize your geographic preferences such as time zone, currency, or language.
• The website will not be able to perform web analytics on visitors and traffic, which will make it harder for the site to remain competitive.
• You will not be able to write on the blog, upload photos, post comments, rate or score content. The website will also not be able to determine whether you are a human or an automated application posting spam.
• Targeted advertising will not 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. Not only delete them, but also block them — either generally or specifically for a particular domain.

To delete cookies from a website, you must go to your browser’s settings, where you can find 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 your browser version.

1. Go to Settings or Preferences through the File menu, or by clicking the customization icon located at the top right.
2. You will see different sections; click on the option Show advanced settings.
3. Go to Privacy, Content settings.
4. Select All cookies and site data.
5. A list will appear showing all cookies sorted by domain. To make it easier to find the cookies of a specific domain, enter the address partially or completely in the “Search cookies” field.
6. After applying this filter, one or several lines with the requested website’s cookies will appear on the screen. You just need to select them and click the X to delete them.

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

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

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

1. Go to Options or Preferences depending on your operating system.
2. Click on Privacy.
3. In History, choose Use custom settings for history.
4. You will now see the option Accept cookies, which you can enable or disable according to your preferences.

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

1. Go to Preferences, then Privacy.
2. In this section, you will see the option Block cookies, allowing you to adjust the type of blocking you want to apply.

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

1. Go to Settings, then Safari.
2. Go to Privacy and Security; you will see the option Block cookies, allowing you to adjust the type of blocking you want to apply.

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

1. Open the browser and press the Menu key, then Settings.
2. Go to Security and Privacy; you will see the option Accept cookies, where you can check or uncheck the box.

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

1. Open Internet Explorer, then More, then Settings.
   
   
2. You can now enable or disable the Allow cookies checkbox.