Cookie
A cookie is a small piece of data a website stores in a visitor's browser, which the browser sends back with later requests. Cookies keep people signed in, remember preferences, and track behaviour. Attributes set alongside a cookie control how long it lasts and when the browser is allowed to send it.
Cookies set by the site a visitor is actually on are called first-party cookies; cookies set by an embedded third-party, such as an ad network or analytics provider, are third-party cookies. Because cookies can carry or track behaviour across sites, using them for anything beyond strictly necessary functionality typically requires informed consent under laws such as the .
Learn more
- RFC 6265: HTTP State Management Mechanism - the cookie specification