Are you leaving cookies for more than just Santa this year?
A new study from All About Cookies – and we’re talking about internet browser cookies, not chocolate chip ones – suggests that there’s a huge gap between what people think they know about internet cookies versus what they actually understand. And it’s much worse than an ignorance-is-bliss type of thing, too.
Worse as in…
Nearly 40% of internet users blindly accept cookies when they get to a website. And baby boomers, you were twice as likely to accept blindly vs. Gen Z respondents.
Some 82% of the people surveyed said they were confident they knew what internet/browser cookies are, yet barely half could identify what they do at their most basic level.
Only 11% of respondents could correctly identify what cookies actually do.
Nearly one in four people believe rejecting cookies will kick you off of a website.
“We live in an era where consumers are more and more cognizant of how their data is being used, but you can’t click a link without a cookies disclosure popping up. There’s a big disconnect between how you’d think internet users would behave based on how much they care about their data,” Chris Lewis, head of research at All About Cookies, told ConsumerAffairs.
“Is it wrong to accept all cookies blindly? Not necessarily, but consumers need to know what they’re giving up when they do so, and be comfortable with that choice.”
What we need to know about cookies
A few years ago, Google announced that it was going to phase out third-party tracking cookies in its Chrome browser, but then it had a change of heart. Now, it says that it's prepared to join Apple (Safari) and Mozilla (Firefox) and go through with the axe job starting by late 2024.
But that's still a year away and a lot of your personal data could still be picked apart and you could be tracked incessantly by social media sites, shopping sites, and ad agencies that have your permission.
"Just because Google is removing third-party cookies on Chrome in 2024 doesn't mean consumers should let their guard down," Lewis said. "With so much of our browsing on mobile or other browsers, it would only apply to a small piece of our total online footprint. Until we see the rollout complete, and other browsers taking note, we still have a while to go until we can totally put our feet up and not worry about our data."
Lewis suggests that there's not a better time to take stock of who you're giving your life story away to.
“Next time you see a cookies disclosure pop up, look at your options, try some different settings, and see how this changes your user experience,” he said, emphasizing that in most cases, changing your settings won't affect your experience at all.
As an exercise to see how much you're giving away, why not do a simple check-up of your cookies and permissions you have set up in Google Chrome? You can do that here -- and you can very easily shut those irrelevant companies' prying eyes with just a few clicks.
“You should also consider using an ad blocker to keep yourself protected from malicious scripts and trackers. And, lastly, it’s important to turn off unnecessary data collection (from unfamiliar sites) by adjusting your privacy options,” Lewis suggested.
Photo Credit: Consumer Affairs News Department Images
Posted: 2023-12-06 12:24:27