Cookie Opt-outs

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4682446

by maccard • 14 years ago

1 2 14 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

I was thinking.. In order to opt out of cookies on websites (now that everyone has one of those opt out bars), do I need to store a cookie to say that they're not allowed store cookies on my PC?

Metatron• 14 years ago

You can just set your browser to not accept cookies. That in itself doesn't require a cookie.

Although I'm not sure why you opt out of cookies. They enable sites to keep larger files cached for longer, so that the sites you visit frequently load quicker. They help Google personalise the ads you do see, so that you don't get crap about Viagra pills, instead you get something that actually be of use to you. And most importantly they enable business to identify users coming to their site and optimise the way their website works to be most effective.

The opt-out culture that is popping up is damaging business by not letting them do their jobs efficiently, or rather preventing them from gathering information of traffic patterns which lead to site improvements. Cookies aren't malicious 99% of the time, and when they are malicious it's because you're on a dodgy site to start with. And that's what private browsing is for, if you really must visit the darker pits of the internet.

The internet you see today, the many positive aspects of it, and the rate at which it has changed from crappy geocities sites is owed largely to the information web designers have been able to glean from cookie data.

maccard• 14 years ago

I get that, I was just wondering really. I have no problem with it personaly, I'd rather see ads for stuff I'm actually looking for than singles in my area

Cookie Opt-outs

Related Stories