COOKIE Guidelines.
The implementation of the EU-Directive 2009/136/EG regarding the protection of personal data in electronic communication , also known as Cookie Directive or E-Privacy Directive.
What is a Cookie?
A cookie is a small file on a website you are visiting, which is stored on your computer. Cookies store information, such as your favorite language or other personal settings. If you visit the same page again at a later time, your browser transfers the stored cookie information back to the page. Thus, individual, customized information can be displayed.
If you use standard settings for cookies, these activities take place without you noticing them. You will not be able to know when a page stores a Cookie or when your browser transmits cookie information on to a website. Nevertheless, the browser can be configured in such a way as to ask you for permission before storing a cookie. You can also limit the lifetime of a cookie on your current browser session.
What types of Cookies are there?
Cookies are divided up according to their lifetime and the domain they belong to. Since they have different lifetimes, they are divided into:
Session cookies are deleted when the user closes the browser.
Persistent cookies remain on the user’s computer/device for a predefined period.
According to the domains to which the cookies belong, you can distinguish between:
Cookies from first-party trackers are established by the respective web server and share a domain.
Cookies from third-party trackers have another domain than the one stored in the selected Internet page. This can occur when the selected Internet page refers to files that don’t belong to your domain (e.g. JavaScript).
Why do we use cookies?
We use our own cookies, as well as those of third parties (Google Analytics), in order to guarantee you an efficient and flawless surfing experience. Many functions would be difficult to carry out without the use of cookies, such as the default settings of user preferences (language setting, country setting).
How can I prevent cookies from being stored?
As a user, you may decide whether to accept or delete cookies or only accept them for single offers and services. You can carry out these individual settings in the browser settings. If you deactivate the cookies, some web pages might not work properly anymore.
This is how you can set up the browser settings:
Internet Explorer:
1. Open Internet Explorer.
2. Click on the “Extras” button and then on “Internet Options”.
3. Click on the “Privacy” tab.
Mozilla Firefox:
1. Open Mozilla Firefox.
2. Click on the menu symbol and then select “Preferences”.
3. Open “Privacy”.
4. Select “Firefox will:” and then select “Use custom settings for history”.
Google Chrome:
1. Open Google Chrome.
2. Click on the menu symbol and then select “Preferences”.
3. Click on “Settings”, then on “Show advanced settings...”
4. Under “Privacy”, select the “Content settings” option.
Sources:
mozilla.org, ec.europa.eu
