What do the different cookies mean?
After the GDPR legislation was introduced, you probably noticed that you have to click 'accept cookies' every time you visit a new website. Perhaps you have also noticed that you can often choose between: 'allow all' or 'allow selected'. In their eagerness to get to the page in question, many consumers quickly click on the most visible 'allow all' button, not thinking about what exactly they have given permission for.
If, on the other hand, you would like to have more information about what information you give the website the right to collect, read here.
What is a cookie?
A cookie is a small data file that is stored on your digital devices (mobile, tablet, PC). The data that is saved in the data file can, among other things, tell the company:
When you visited the website
If you have visited the site before
Whether you have added items to the shopping basket
What amount you have purchased for
Which device you used
The company may use this information to target its marketing to you. In this way, they can show you the offers that you will find most relevant - and that you are most likely to buy.
It is very different how consumers feel about cookies and targeted marketing. Some people think it's cool that the very shoes they clicked on and considered buying appear in the ad the next day when they log on to Facebook.
Others find the idea of 'surveillance' frightening. Where do 'they' know this from, and what else do 'they' know - and not least what will 'they' use this information for, and will it have consequences for me?
If a consumer chooses to reject cookies, data is not saved - the consequence is that there will be a selection of functions and services that the website cannot offer/display, since this requires that the website 'must' remember the choices the consumer has made.
4 different types of cookies
As mentioned, after the introduction of the GDPR legislation in 2018 it became mandatory for companies to obtain permission to store your personal data when you visit their website.
You may have noticed that some companies list the different types of cookies you can accept. Here you will get an explanation of which areas the various cookies cover.
1. Necessary cookies:
The necessary cookies are collected to make the website user-friendly. By accepting the necessary cookies, you allow basic functions such as navigation on the website and access to secure areas of the website to be activated.
Most websites find it difficult to function optimally unless this information must be stored.
2. Functional cookies:
The functional cookies collect information about geography and language. They are used to present the most relevant version of the website to you. If you e.g. log on to a restaurant chain's website, and chooses to display the website for the chain's department in Silkeborg, the page will be able to remember this, and in future lead you to this page, as it will interpret that this is most relevant to you.
If you have selected the English language version of the site, this would also be stored and this version will automatically be displayed the next time you visit the site.
3. Statistical cookies:
As the name suggests, these cookies are used to collect data that forms the basis of statistics. This is information about how you interact with the website, such as how often you have visited the page, which pages you look at and how long you spent on the page.
The information is processed anonymously and used for internal statistics and analysis.
4. Marketing cookies:
If you click 'yes' to allow the site to use marketing cookies, you accept that the website may track your progress across different websites. It is therefore not only the choices you make on the website in question, but also on the websites you subsequently visit.
This is information about which ads you click on, which products you buy, which items you add and remove from your basket. This information is often shared with other companies and used for targeted marketing. You also give permission for YouTube to register and keep statistics on which videos you have watched.
It is this data information that is most valuable to publishers and third-party advertisers. Data from these data files is used to select which pop-up ads are displayed just for you.
How long my data is stored?
When you have clicked allow for either selected or all cookies, your data files are stored. There is a big difference in how long the various data processors save your information – anything from 1 day to 2 years is normal.
You can read much more about cookies and data collection on our cookies & compliance page. You are also welcome to contact us, if you are in doubt as to whether your current cookie solution complies with the GDPR regulations or not.