What are Internet Cookies ?

 

A cookie is a tiny text file placed on your device when you visit webpage. There are several types of cookies used for a variety of purposes, but in general sense cookies are stored to information. Whether that information consists of login info, the contents of your online shopping cart or even your computer's location.

What do browser cookies do? 

The purpose of the computer cookies is to help the website keep track of your visits and activity. On the other hand it involve actually "tracking" and "following " where you go and what you click. 

 This helps to customise web pages or helps in saving information for logging in for certain webpages. For example: To save passwords for different accounts like Gmail, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc, the entire information gets saved in the server.

Next time you enter any website by utilising a cookie, you will be approached by the browser to enter your nonexclusive data like your name, email id and your types of interests. The data is then packaged into a cookie by your internet browser which is utilised further. This data is packaged as a cookie by your internet browser which is then sent to the server. Each time your program demands for a website page this cookie is sent to the server.

Should I delete cookies?

If you share your device with other people, and you don’t want them to be able to auto-login to your online accounts or view your browsing history, deleting cookies is a good idea. This practice can help improve your privacy. Whether you are using a Windows computer or a Mac, you will find a few useful articles on clearing cookies at the end of this article.

Additionally, many web browsers offer Incognito mode also known as private or anonymous browsing. Incognito browsing blocks websites from placing cookies on your system. It may be a handy tool to use when checking your email from a public computer or hiding your browsing history from others who use the same device. 

 Conclusions

As you know, cookies are just to gather information on the user. It cannot be harmful unless you execute a virus into the cookie. You need not worry about the cookies present in the browsers.