What are cookies?
Cookies are files that can be downloaded to your computer by websites. They are tools that play an essential role in the provision of numerous information society services. Among other things, they allow a website to store and retrieve information about the browsing habits of a user or their equipment and, depending on the information obtained, they can be used to recognise the user and improve the service offered.
Types of cookies
Depending on the entity that manages the domain from which the cookies are sent and processes the data obtained, two types of cookies can be distinguished:
- Own cookies: those that are sent to the user's terminal equipment from a computer or domain managed by the editor itself and from which the service requested by the user is provided.
- Third-party cookies: those that are sent to the user's terminal equipment from a computer or domain that is not managed by the editor, but by another entity that processes the data obtained through the cookies.
In the event that the cookies are installed from a computer or domain managed by the editor itself but the information collected through them is managed by a third party, they cannot be considered as own cookies.
There is also a second classification according to the length of time they remain stored in the client's browser, which may be:
- Session cookies: designed to collect and store data while the user accesses a website. They are usually used to store information that only needs to be kept for the provision of the service requested by the user on a single occasion (e.g. a list of products purchased).
- Persistent cookies: the data remains stored in the terminal and can be accessed and processed for a period defined by the party responsible for the cookie, which can range from a few minutes to several years.
Finally, there is another classification according to the purpose for which the data obtained are processed:
- Technical cookies: those that allow the user to navigate through a website, platform or application and the use of the different options or services that exist therein, such as, for example, controlling traffic and data communication, identifying the session, accessing restricted access parts, remembering the elements that make up an order, carrying out the purchasing process of an order, making the application for registration or participation in an event, using security elements during navigation, storing content for the dissemination of videos or sound or sharing content through social networks.
- Personalisation cookies: these allow the user to access the service with some predefined general characteristics depending on a series of criteria in the user's terminal, such as the language, the type of browser used to access the service, the regional configuration from which the service is accessed, etc.
- Analysis cookies: these allow the party responsible for them to monitor and analyse the behaviour of the users of the websites to which they are linked. The information collected through this type of cookies is used to measure the activity of the websites, application or platform and for the elaboration of browsing profiles of the users of these sites, applications and platforms, in order to introduce improvements based on the analysis of the usage data of the users of the service.
- Advertising cookies: these enable the management, in the most efficient way possible, of advertising spaces.
- Behavioural advertising cookies: these store information on the behaviour of users obtained through the continuous observation of their browsing habits, which allows a specific profile to be developed in order to display advertising based on the same.
- External social network cookies: these are used so that visitors can interact with the content of different social platforms (Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.) and are only generated for users of these social networks. The conditions of use of these cookies and the information collected is regulated by the privacy policy of the corresponding social platform.
Disabling and deleting cookies
You have the option of allowing, blocking or deleting the cookies installed on your computer by configuring the browser options installed on your computer. By disabling cookies, some of the services available may no longer be operational. The way to disable cookies is different for each browser, but can usually be done from the Tools or Options menu. You can also consult the browser's Help menu where you can find instructions. You may at any time choose which cookies you want to operate on this website.
You can allow, block or delete the cookies installed on your computer by configuring the options of the browser installed on your computer:
- Microsoft Internet Explorer o Microsoft Edge: http://windows.microsoft.com/es- es/windows-vista/Block-or-allow-cookies
- Mozilla Firefox: http://support.mozilla.org/es/kb/impedir-que-los-sitios-web- guarden-sus-preferencia
- Chrome: https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/61416?hl=es
- Safari: http://safari.helpmax.net/es/privacidad-y-seguridad/como-gestionar-las- cookies/
- Opera: http://help.opera.com/Linux/10.60/es-ES/cookies.html
In addition, you can also manage the storage of cookies in your browser using tools such as the following: