Explaining Cookies in the Internet Age

December 3, 2025 - Sarah Barrett, Analyst

The other night I overheard my daughter say, “I don’t know what cookies are. I just accept them whenever they come up.” This got me to thinking. I, too, blindly accept the offer of cookies (real or digital) without giving it a second thought. But what are we really doing when we just accept cookies to get the pop-up to go away?

Before we go into the science of cookies – we first have to know what they are. Cookies are a small text file that is passed from a website to your computer. This is often done without your knowledge or consent. The cookie is used to save information about your interaction with the website. Cookies prevent you from having to re-enter your information over and over again.[1] Cookies are like digital post-it notes to make your web experience much more personalized and efficient.

This can be super convenient because no one wants to enter their username, password, location or language preference each time they open a website on a browser. Who else fills up their online shopping cart, finds a little restraint, closes the site and then returns to said website finding their cart full and ready to hit purchase?

Just like real cookies – some are good and some are bad. “Good” cookies allow a website to function smoothly. “Bad” cookies can track your information across multiple sites. They do this to build a profile of your habits and interests with the distinct purpose of directing advertising your way. This is referred to as a third-party cookie. As noted in one resource available on the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada’s website:

“When an advertisement is on a web page supplied by a first party, the advertising content and a cookie are passed from the advertising company (the third party) to the end user’s (your) computer. Later, when you revisit that same first-party website, or another site that uses the same advertising company, the third-party cookie can be retrieved by the advertising company. If the cookie contains a unique identifier, then information about your visits to different websites can be linked together.”[2]

Information tracking for “behavioural advertising” is usually done covertly. This raises concerns about privacy because if we don’t know we are being tracked we lose control of our personal information.[3]

Web browsers provide some tools to control cookies. Be sure to check your browser and make sure the default setting isn’t to store all cookies indefinitely. You can set your browser to block cookies, but many websites insist users accept cookies to use their service. Blocking cookies can affect your overall user experience by making things tedious and repetitive.[4]

As with the case of real cookies, restraint must be practiced by carefully accepting only the ones we want or need. Blindly accepting cookies permits companies to obtain a great deal of information about us. To better navigate which cookies should be accepted and how to protect yourself, check out the blog, What to Know about Internet Cookies posted on the Government of Canada website. And remember: Be careful which cookies you accept; it could affect more than your waistline.

[1] Web tracking with cookies, Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canda, November 23, 2025, https://www.priv.gc.ca/en/privacy-topics/technology/online-privacy-tracking-cookies/cookies/02_05_d_49/.

[2] Web tracking with cookies, Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, November 23, 2025, https://www.priv.gc.ca/en/privacy-topics/technology/online-privacy-tracking-cookies/cookies/02_05_d_49/.

[3] Frequently asked questions about online behavioral advertising, Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, November 25, 2025, https://www.priv.gc.ca/en/privacy-topics/technology/online-privacy-tracking-cookies/tracking-and-ads/02_05_d_52_ba_01/.

[4] Frequently asked questions about cookies, Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, November 25, 2025, https://www.priv.gc.ca/en/privacy-topics/technology/online-privacy-tracking-cookies/cookies/frequently-asked-questions-about-cookies/.

Categories: BlogTags: education, privacy, technology