Cookie

A cookie (also web cookie, browser cookie, HTTP cookie), is a text file given by a website to a user and stored in their browser software. The cookie is recognised and read by the webserver and can be used in many ways including authentication, storing site preferences, and shopping cart contents. The text file consists of one or more name-value pairs containing bits of information, which may be encrypted for information privacy and data security purposes. The cookie is sent as an HTTP header by a web server to a web browser and then sent back unchanged by the browser each time it accesses that server. Cookies are set by the server and may or may not have an expiration date. Cookies without an expiration date exist until the browser terminates, while cookies with an expiration date may be stored by the browser until the expiration date passes. Users may also manually delete cookies in order to save space or manage their privacy. Most browsers allow users to decide whether to accept cookies, and the time frame to keep them, but rejecting cookies makes some websites unusable. See also: First party cookie, Third party cookie.