Intensive Interaction Institute

A cookie is a small text file, typically of letters and numbers, downloaded to your computer when you access websites. Typically, they contain the following information: a site name and unique user ID, the duration of the cookie's abilities and effects, and a random number. As a rule, cookies cannot be used to reveal your identity or personally identifying information.

The first time you visit a website that uses cookies, a cookie is downloaded onto your computer. The next time you visit that website, your computer checks to see if it has a cookie that is relevant and sends the information contained in that cookie back to the website. The website then notes that you have been there before, and in some cases, tailors what pops up on screen to take account of that fact. They also might record how long you spend on each page on a site, what links you click, even your preferences for page layouts and colour schemes.

Generally, the role of cookies is to make your interaction with frequently-visited sites smoother with no extra effort on your part. Without cookies, online shopping would be much harder. Without cookies, some websites will become less interactive with the cookie option turned off.