What’s a Cookie and Can I Eat It?

A cookie is delicious name for a small file saved on your computer by a website you are visiting. The concept was originally developed in 1994 for the Netscape browser. Cookies have earned a bit of a bad rap, but still exist because they have legitimate uses like remembering a repeat visitor (“Welcome back, Ben!”) or keeping items in your virtual cart without being signed in. Their less tasty uses are for serving up ads or tracking your browsing history. If you are concerned about privacy you can periodically delete your cookies or block them altogether. However if you do, be aware that some websites may not function normally.