What are cookies?

Cookies are small text files that are created by websites you visit and stored on your computer.

They help websites remember important information about you. For example, if you're on a website adding items to a shopping cart, and you leave the website, a cookie will store information about you, so that the next time you arrive at that site, your shopping cart will have the items you previously added to it

Usually a cookie can only be access by the website that created it.

 

Whats the concern about Cookies?

Althought cookies can only be accessed by the website that created them, there are a number of technical ways to share cookies between sites. This means that some websites can track a user across the internet. A common example of this is in advertising. Advertising networks use cookies to build a profile of you, and show you relevant products and services.