We accept “cookies” without knowing how they work

Cookies have been with us since Internet exists, and beyond the fact that they are normally displayed within annoying pop-up windows, the reality is that many of us accept them without knowing very well what they mean, something that should not be the case, in fact we Spaniards do not approve when it comes to know what a cookie means.

And it is that most of us accept cookies without knowing very well what they mean, something that, although it may not seem like it, is quite serious. Because it is a data treatment that is much more important than we might think.

Most of us accept them without knowing

A study by the security company Avast has revealed that no less than 60% of Spaniards accept cookies without having real knowledge about what your acceptance means. Cookies are files that have basically been created to track our activity on the Internet, on each of the websites we visit. These are stored in web browsers, and have basically been created to improve our experience with online stores or media.

Thanks to it, companies can show the most suitable advertising for our search or purchasing habits. So they are contents that in some way do analyze our activity, many of us know, and a priori they use that information so that we have a better user experience. But it is not always like that, and that is why Avast remembers that the 57% of Spaniards do not know what they are cookies actually.

We don’t know what they mean

And despite them, 60% of these usually accept them without any conditions on different websites. One in five Spaniards is not sure what these cookies mean, and whether they are beneficial or malicious. At least the Spanish show a great interest in knowing what cookies really mean, something that undoubtedly brings some hope to all this. But the same survey reveals the main reason why we accept them without question in most cases, and that is that in this way we can access the web more quickly. That is what really leads us to accept more cookies without really knowing what they mean.

Only 13% of respondents usually reject cookies for whatever reason, and only 14% care to consult the privacy policy of these web pages. Come on, we don’t worry too much about what we are really accepting when we do it. 46% of users do not usually do anything about cookies and 39% do usually delete them manually. Come on, we don’t worry much about these cookies either, since only 16% delete them with the help of third-party software designed to delete them in an orderly manner. It is therefore evident that most of us do not care much about them, neither what they mean by accepting them, nor by rejecting them. In the end we see them as a hindrance, and surely we end up pressing the button to accept or not based on the rush we have.