Cookies (web and tracking)
Cookies are small text files placed by a site or a third party on the user’s browser. They maintain sessions, store preferences, or track behavior for analytics and advertising purposes. Their lifecycle and accessibility depend on how they are set and browser privacy policies.
In practice
First-party cookies (site domain) are distinct from third-party cookies (third parties such as Google Analytics or Meta Pixel). The latter are blocked by default in Safari and Firefox since 2020, and their removal has been planned in Chrome for several years. The shift to first-party data forces publishers to collect their own data (emails, declared preferences) rather than relying on third-party cookies for retargeting.