Privacy policy and cookies – frequently asked questions
What are cookies and how do they work?
Cookies are small files that are downloaded to your computer or mobile device when you visit a website. Your browser sends these cookies back to the website every time you visit the site again, so it can recognise you. This allows websites to tailor what you see on the screen.
Are cookies viruses?
No. Cookies are not viruses, trojans, spyware, or worms or any other kind of malware.
Are cookies programs?
No. Cookies are not programs. They can’t install things you don’t want on your computer.
Can cookies see what’s on my computer?
No, cookies can’t see what is on your computer. Nor can they collect any other information from your computer, nor snoop on your files.
What is in a cookie?
A cookie contains seven main pieces of information:
- Domain
The domain (ie, the domain name) of the website that set the cookie.
- Name
The name of the cookie
- Value
The identifying information the cookie is carrying. This is normally an encrypted string of letters and numbers, that is only meaningful the website that set the cookie.
- Expiry
How long the cookie lasts for. If this is not set, the cookie will disappear when you close your browser (session cookies). Otherwise it will delete itself on the date set in the expiry field.
- Path
This is not always used, but can be set so that the cookie is only sent when the user is in a particular part of the website. For example if the domain is set to acme.com, and the path is set to /accounts, the cookie will only be used when the user is in the acme.com/accounts part of the site.
- Secure
This attribute can be used to tell the browser to only use the cookie when it is using a secure or encrypted connection.
- Http only
When a reader visits a website a series of requests and responses for pages are made. These requests and responses are issued in a special language called HTTP, which is short for HyperText Transfer Protocol. HTTP only defines what the browser and web server say to each other, not how they communicate. This attribute can be used to tell the browser to only use the cookie when the HTTP protocol is being used. i.e. if this attribute is set, the cookie won’t be accessible via non-HTTP methods, such as JavaScript.
Can I control the cookies I get?
Yes. You can control what cookies you get, and which cookies you keep, and whether or not information about your browsing activity is captured. This next section tells you how to control your preferences.
We are not suggesting you use all the different tools and techniques described below. They will not all be appropriate for everyone. It is however important to understand that there is a range of options and tools available, and it’s up to you to decide which if any of them to use.
Please note any settings you change may not just affect MailOnline cookies. These changes may apply to all websites you visit.
How can I see and manage my cookies in my browser?
Virtually all modern browsers allow you to see what cookies you’ve got, and to delete them individually or delete all of them.
Many browsers can also be set up to ask consent for each individual cookie before it is set. This gives you very fine control over what cookies you get, but it can slow down your browsing experience if you have to check each and every cookie.
Most browsers also give you the right to block third party cookies. Blocking third party cookies will opt you out of some behavioural advertising. Where we arrange for our customers to be shown advertisements on our own or other websites, this uses information collected via first party cookies. Therefore, the best way to opt-out of online behavioural advertising is to follow the steps outlined on our “Controlling online behavioural advertising and other third party cookies” page.
Some browsers let you block cookies from particular sites. So for example if you are happy to get cookies from a site you trust, but you don’t want to get cookies from a site you don’t particularly trust, you can set up your browser to black list the site you don’t trust and refuse any cookies it tries to give you.
Most browsers will let you delete all cookies when you close your browser. You should be aware that any preferences including any opt outs you have set will be lost if you do this.
Finally, you can tell your browser to block all cookies from being set. You should be aware that if you do choose this option many sites will not work as smoothly as you are used to, and some functionality that is reliant on cookies to enable services you want to use will not work at all.
The links below take you to the help sections for each of the major browsers, that will tell you how you can manage your cookies:
Please also see the AboutCookies website for further information about how to manage your cookies.
How can I control online behavioural advertising and other tracking cookies?
In addition to the controls available on your computer there are also other ways of controlling online behavioural advertising and other tracking cookies. Please note that most of these controls work by setting a cookie that over-rides the online behavioural advertising cookie. If you delete all your cookies you will also delete the controls to remove cookies, therefore deleting your opt-out preference. In this instance you would need to opt out again. For more information on how to online behavioural advertising, please see our section on ‘controlling online behavioural advertising’.
What about Flash and Silverlight cookies?
There are several different types of cookies. The most common kind are HTTP cookies. These are the ones that you can control with the mechanisms we described above. In addition to the HTTP cookies, there are other technologies that work in similar ways to cookies such as Flash Local Shared Objects (LSOs) and Silverlight cookies. Some of our sites use these types of cookies. You can control them manually using via the websites below:
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