Cookies are not as scary as people are led to believe. They are just a clever little marketing tool that is designed to be helpful to you. They remember details such as usernames and passwords (if you allow them) to make it easier and quicker when logging in to websites like Facebook. Cookies can be really helpful as they can store information about a users location and can then make sure that when the user types for example ‘weather’ into a search engine, only local weather results will be shown. All of these things are designed to make your online experience more personal.
Research from warc found that ‘65% of consumers believe targeted advertising is an abuse of privacy’ however they also found that ‘64% of consumers think advertising tailored to their individual tastes and interests is a good idea’. How can people believe both without completely contradicting themselves?
Many people believe that tracking cookies are some kind of virus or bug that is sent to steal personal information. The Electronic Privacy Information Centre (EPIC) believes that as the online world develops the cookies are getting more advanced and ‘poses a great threat to consumer privacy’. They believe that most of the public aren’t even aware of these cookies and what they are doing. EPIC and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) discuss the development of Flash cookies which are harder to find and get rid of. Users are not notified that they exist on their webpage and they don’t expire like traditional HTTP cookies. They are more advanced which means that if a user deletes a HTTP cookie the new Flash cookie can reinstall data that was deleted. Many groups believe this is a massive invasion of privacy. People are choosing to ‘opt out’ by deleting the tracking cookies but other cookies are re-installing the information without the user knowing. Clearly this is an invasion of privacy because the whole point of cookies is that people can opt out.
However I don’t believe that these are as harmful as people are led to believe. There are benefits to Flash cookies. They save more information about your online interests and can be really helpful. If you are watching a program on BBC iplayer it will remember the volume that you set as well as how far into the program you are. This means that if you close the web page and go back to it later it remembers your settings. You don’t have to log in, adjust sound or even find the place in the program when you stopped watching. It means that a consumer can time when surfing the internet.
I believe the benefits of cookies outweigh the negatives. The intention of cookies is for companies to find out about your interests so that they can target you with products that would be useful to you. I agree with Peter Adams who believes that people aren’t really sure what cookies are. People just presume that they are bad and don’t think about how they can be helpful. I don’t think they realise that the things that are saving them time are the things that they are against. I like that when I go to a website it has remembered my log in details and my preferences. I don’t want to have to type in my location whenever I check the weather. It is so much better that it remembers who you are and the information that you actually care about. And if you still hate cookies there are still ways to delete tracking cookies on your antivirus software, so the choice is up to you.
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