why does every site i visit drop a cookie

[Arturo99]

Why does almost every site i visit ask it it can drop a cookie?
Is this similar to dropping a "facebook tracking pixel?
If so, i can see I can be remarketed to in facebook for example.
But I don't think every site I visit has this intention.

Sometimes you get a fairly big box asking the question
Sometimes its only a footer strip
Whats the strategy behind these?
thanks

[phranque]

these are primarily an attempt to comply with GDPR.

[tangor]

@Arturo99 ... things have changed since GDPR came into effect this last year. That said, in general if your browser is set to reject all third party cookies in most cases you're okay and all you have to do it decide if you want THAT site to drop a cookie.

MEANWHILE, even if you accept the cookie for that session (your visit) to see what the site has to offer, you are urged (security/privacy reasons) to delete all cookies each time you close your browser (and do close it at least every 24 hours!).

There are other means to manage these ... but that gets into browser extensions, etc, which might go well beyond the scope of this particular forum.

Expect to see more of these, not less, in the future, most especially from sites that rely on third party ad servicing. This is the new "normal".

[Arturo99]

ok thanks
& How do you define a cookie? Would a facebook pixel be called a cookie?
Is this the same thing as a tracker?

[Dimitri]

How do you define a cookie?

[en.wikipedia.org...]

Would a facebook pixel be called a cookie?

a pixel is a pixel, a cookie is a cookie.

It might be easier if you explain why are you wondering about it? Because there are two questions, in your first message. Why sites are dropping cookies, and why some are showing banners.

A cookie is not necessarily for "tracking". It can be for plenty of other usage. For example to remind user's preference, the user's session (which is indirectly a tracking in a way, yes), etc...

Site like Facebook, can track users on server side, without cookies. The "tracking " pixel is used to make a request to the Facebook servers, and from this request Facebook can elaborate "approximative" tracking, which can certainly be rather precise using the IP, and the browser fingerprints left by the request :)

[lucy24]

Topic header:

why does every site i visit drop a cookie

First line of post:

Why does almost every site i visit ask if it can drop a cookie?

Those are two entirely different questions.

[phranque]

How do you define a cookie?

i would define a cookie as (up to 4kb of) arbitrary textual data exchanged between the server and the user agent using HTTP response and request headers.

Would a facebook pixel be called a cookie?

i would call a facebook pixel an image.

Is this the same thing as a tracker?

not the same thing but two technologies to accomplish the same thing in some cases - FB pixel is always used for tracking; cookies are sometimes used for tracking

[Arturo99]

Thanks for the explanations .