Cookies are small text files stored on a user's device that allow websites to save certain information or track the user's behavior across browsing sessions. Cookies are used by 49.7% of all websites and can store information provided by the user, track pages visited and time spent, and manage sessions. However, cookies cannot automatically access personal information, read or write to the hard disk, or read/write cookies from other sites. The typical flow involves a site sending a cookie to the browser on the first visit, then the browser sending that cookie back with subsequent requests so the site can identify the user. There is a limit of around 300 cookies per browser and each cookie can be no larger than 4KB in size.

1. Cookies and more...
By,
Vinay Shriyan

2. It all started from a ...
...shopping cart at Netscape

3. Wikipedia says...
...a cookie is used for an origin
website to send state information to a user's
browser and for the browser to return the state
information to the origin site

4. Typical flow
Go to URL
Read Cookie
Yes
Is Cookie Write new Cookie
No Empty?
Use Cookie info
Update Cookie info

5. Unique Cookies
47,908
382,576
13,489 12,246 11,219
10,580 9,895 4,372
Source: Feb 2012 statistics by cookielaw.org

6. Cookies is used by 49.7% of all the websites.

7. Cookies cannot...
Automatically access to personal information
Read or write data to hard disk
Read or write information in cookies placed by
other sites
Run programs on your computer

8. Cookies can...
Store any information you explicitly provide to a
site
Track your interaction with parent site such as
pages visited, time of visits, number of visits

9. Max 4Kb in size
3 imp Attributes: Name,Value,Expiry
300 cookies per browser

10. Cookies are used for...
User Tracking Session Management
Personalization

12. Ad server
Web server

13. Social widgets are
collaborative but act as homing
devices for online advertisers...

14. Facebook Case study
I window shop at

16. Yes I Love

17. Audience profiling
It knows who you are
+ = Better Targeting
What you like

18. It knows you, before you even login...

20. Cookies and UK
26th May 2011, the Cookie law
Obtain informed consent from visitors
82% of digital marketers think the EU cookie law is bad for the web
- eConsultancy.com

21. The ICO case
“Websites face £500k fine for
breaching ‘cookie’ law“

22. Cookies and Privacy

23. Opt-out of targeting

24. Opt-out of targeting

25. RTB – Ecosystem, remember?

26. What about Chitika??

27. Thank you...