Cookies are small text files that the websites visited by the user send and record on his computer or mobile device, to be then re-transmitted to the same websites on the next visit.Thanks to cookies, the website remembers the user's actions and preferences (such as, for example, login data, the chosen language, etc.) so that they do not have to be indicated again when the user returns to visit said website or browses from one page to another. Cookies, therefore, are used to perform computer authentication, session monitoring and storage of information regarding the activities of users who access a website and may also contain a unique identification code that allows to keep track of the user's navigation within the website itself for statistical or advertising purposes. While browsing a website, the user may also receive cookies from websites or web servers other than the one they are visiting on their computer or mobile device (third-party cookies). Some operations could not be performed without the use of cookies, which in some cases are therefore technically necessary for the functioning of the website itself.
There are various types of cookies, depending on their characteristics and functions, and these can remain on the user's computer or mobile device for different periods of time: session cookies, which are automatically deleted when the browser is closed; persistent cookies, which remain on the user's equipment until a set deadline.
Under current legislation, the user's express consent is not always required for the use of cookies. In particular, technical cookies do not require this consent, as they are essential for the operation of the website or necessary to perform activities requested by the user.
For functionality cookies, used to activate specific features of the website and a series of selected criteria (for example, the language, the products selected for purchase) in order to improve the service provided; analytical cookies, including from third parties, which allow to understand how the website is used by the user; advertising cookies, i.e. those aimed at creating profiles relating to the user and used in order to send advertising messages in line with the preferences expressed by the same in the context of surfing the net, prior consent of the user is required.
