Cookies are files, temporarily stored on your computer's or phone's browser, used to operate websites and/or to collect information about your browsing.
A cookie can be classified according to its lifetime and the domain to which it belongs. Depending on its lifetime, a cookie can be :
- a session cookie that is deleted when the user closes the browser; or
- a persistent cookie that remains on the user's device for a predefined period of time.
Depending on the domain they belong to, they are either:
- first party cookies that are deposited by the page visited and share the same domain; or
- third-party cookies that come from a different domain than the one of the visited page. This can happen for example when the visited page contains an object, for example JavaScript, located outside its domain.
In addition to these characteristics related to their operation, cookies are generally divided into four categories according to their purpose:
- - essential cookies are necessary for the operation of the site and allow navigation or the use of the site's services and functionalities (session identifier, authentication, security, multimedia content player, balancing, language or preferences, etc.)
- Statistical analysis cookies collect information on the use of the site by visitors (for example, which pages of the site are most frequently visited) and make it possible to improve its operation,
- advertising cookies are used to understand your browsing habits and activities and can be used to establish your consumption profile in order to offer you adapted advertising content,
- - Social network cookies are used to track members and non-members of social networks for marketing analysis and product development purposes.
Cookies do not generate or transmit viruses.
