Internet Cookies

What are cookies?
Small text files that some websites place on your computer.

Uses

collect information about the pages you view and your activities on the site
enable the site to:
- remember your user ID
- offer an online shopping cart
- keep track of your preferences if you visit the website again

The cookie transmits this information back to the website's computer (or server) which generally is the only computer that can read it. You can set your Web browser to warn you about attempts to place cookies on your computer, or to limit the type of cookies you allow.

Two general types

Persistent cookies

stay on your computer and record information every time you visit some websites
are stored on the hard drive of your computer until you manually delete them from a browser folder, or until they expire, which can be months or years after they were placed on your computer.
are NOT used on any FTC websites.

Session cookies

help with navigation on the website
only record information during one visit to a website and then are erased
are used on these FTC websites:
- www.DoNotCall.gov
  - to provide streamlined navigation and site language selection
- www.telemarketing.donotcall.gov
  - to provide streamlined navigation and log-in authentication
- www.ftc.gov/bulkorder
  - to enable the shopping cart feature

Deleting session cookies