Web Cookies: Enhancing Experience or Privacy Intrusion | PWOnlyIAS 2023

Context: The digital world of cookies plays a significant role in any online experience.

What are Cookies?

• Cookies are text files containing small snippets of information such as login details to identify  computer when connected to the internet. 
• They are used to identify and improve web browsing experience by allowing them to identify specific users.
  • For Example: Platforms like Facebook and Google use cookies to track online behavior, ensuring the ads you encounter align with your preferences.
• India’s newly enacted Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023 now necessitates websites to acquire explicit consent from users prior to collecting or processing their personal data via cookies. 

Uses

• Helps in Authentication: Cookies act as digital ID cards, aiding in user authentication by allowing websites to recognise and keep you logged in during your visit.
• Personalization Experience: They foster a sense of personalisation, recalling one’s preferences such as language choice or website theme. 
• Analytics: Theyfacilitate website owners in gathering invaluable analytics data about user interactions, enabling them to make enhancements and customize content.
• Marketing: They play a pivotal role in targeted advertising, as advertisers use them to display ads that align with your interests and browsing history, making online shopping more enticing. 

Associated Challenges

• Privacy Concerns: Privacy concerns arise as cookies could track  online behavior, which, while often harmless, can sometimes encroach upon digital privacy. 
• Security risks: Security risks loom when cookies are inadequately secured, opening doors for cybercriminals to pilfer one’s personal information. 
  •  Third-party cookies have sparked debates, prompting many web browsers to curb their usage to safeguard user privacy. 
• Sluggish Web Experience: The data deluge generated by the multitude of cookies can potentially clog your browser, leading to a sluggish web experience.

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