Web cookies (also called HTTP cookies, browser cookies, or simply cookies) are small pieces of data that websites store on your device (computer, phone, etc.) through your web browser. They are used to remember information about you and your interactions with the site.
Purpose of Cookies:
Session Management:
Keeping you logged in
Remembering items in a shopping cart
Saving language or theme preferences
Personalization:
Tailoring content or ads based on your previous activity
Tracking & Analytics:
Monitoring browsing behavior for analytics or marketing purposes
Types of Cookies:
Session Cookies:
Temporary; deleted when you close your browser
Used for things like keeping you logged in during a single session
Persistent Cookies:
Stored on your device until they expire or are manually deleted
Used for remembering login credentials, settings, etc.
First-Party Cookies:
Set by the website you're visiting directly
Third-Party Cookies:
Set by other domains (usually advertisers) embedded in the website
Commonly used for tracking across multiple sites
Authentication cookies are a special type of web cookie used to identify and verify a user after they log in to a website or web application.
What They Do:
Once you log in to a site, the server creates an authentication cookie and sends it to your browser. This cookie:
Proves to the website that you're logged in
Prevents you from having to log in again on every page you visit
Can persist across sessions if you select "Remember me"
What's Inside an Authentication Cookie?
Typically, it contains:
A unique session ID (not your actual password)
Optional metadata (e.g., expiration time, security flags)
Analytics cookies are cookies used to collect data about how visitors interact with a website. Their primary purpose is to help website owners understand and improve user experience by analyzing things like:
How users navigate the site
Which pages are most/least visited
How long users stay on each page
What device, browser, or location the user is from
What They Track:
Some examples of data analytics cookies may collect:
Page views and time spent on pages
Click paths (how users move from page to page)
Bounce rate (users who leave without interacting)
User demographics (location, language, device)
Referring websites (how users arrived at the site)
Here’s how you can disable cookies in common browsers:
1. Google Chrome
Open Chrome and click the three vertical dots in the top-right corner.
Go to Settings > Privacy and security > Cookies and other site data.
Choose your preferred option:
Block all cookies (not recommended, can break most websites).
Block third-party cookies (can block ads and tracking cookies).
2. Mozilla Firefox
Open Firefox and click the three horizontal lines in the top-right corner.
Go to Settings > Privacy & Security.
Under the Enhanced Tracking Protection section, choose Strict to block most cookies or Custom to manually choose which cookies to block.
3. Safari
Open Safari and click Safari in the top-left corner of the screen.
Go to Preferences > Privacy.
Check Block all cookies to stop all cookies, or select options to block third-party cookies.
4. Microsoft Edge
Open Edge and click the three horizontal dots in the top-right corner.
Go to Settings > Privacy, search, and services > Cookies and site permissions.
Select your cookie settings from there, including blocking all cookies or blocking third-party cookies.
5. On Mobile (iOS/Android)
For Safari on iOS: Go to Settings > Safari > Privacy & Security > Block All Cookies.
For Chrome on Android: Open the app, tap the three dots, go to Settings > Privacy and security > Cookies.
Be Aware:
Disabling cookies can make your online experience more difficult. Some websites may not load properly, or you may be logged out frequently. Also, certain features may not work as expected.
Any corporation, partnership, sole proprietorship, firm, franchise, association, organization, holding company, joint stock company, receivership, business or real estate trust, or any other legal entity organized for profit or charitable purposes.
Any experiment in which a drug is administered or dispensed to, or used, involving one or more human subjects. An experiment here is any use of a drug, except for the use of a marketed drug in the course of medical practice.
Any experiment that involves a test article and one or more human subjects, and that either is subject to requirements for prior submission to the Food and Drug Administration under section 505(i) or 520(g) of the act, or is not subject to requirements for prior submission to the Food and Drug Administration under these sections of the act, but the results of which are intended to be submitted later to, or held for inspection by, the Food and Drug Administration as part of an application for a research or marketing permit. The term does not include experiments that are subject to the provisions of part 58 of the chapter, regarding non-clinical laboratory studies.
Any domestic or foreign, public or private, organization (excluding a Federal agency) from which an Investigator (and spouse and dependent children) receives remuneration or in which any person has an ownership or equity interest.
A situation in which significant financial interests in a business, or other personal considerations provided by a business, may compromise, or have the appearance of compromising, an Investigator’s professional judgment in conducting or reporting research, the results of which could affect the aforementioned business, either directly or indirectly. An FCOI exists when the University, through its designated official(s), reasonably determines that an Investigator’s Significant Financial Interest is related to a research project and could directly and significantly affect the design, conduct or reporting of the research.
A living individual about whom an Investigator conducting research obtains data through intervention or interaction with the individual, or identifiable private information.
An individual who is, or becomes, a participant in research, either as a recipient of the test article or as a control. A subject may be either a healthy human or a patient.
Any domestic or foreign, public or private, entity or organization (excluding a Federal Agency) that is applying for or that receives NIH research funding.
An Investigator’s professional responsibilities on behalf of the University, which include research, teaching, and service as, e.g., outlined in the Policy on Faculty Professional Responsibilities
A product of the intellect that has commercial value, including copyrighted works, patents, business methods, and industrial processes. Investigator: The principal investigator and any other person (regardless of title or position) who is responsible for the design, conduct or reporting of research or educational activities. This may include faculty and research staff (research associates and assistants, postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, visiting scientists engaged in research conducted at the University) as well as consultants.
The principal investigator and any other person (regardless of title or position) who is responsible for the design, conduct or reporting of research or educational activities. This may include faculty and research staff (research associates and assistants, postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, visiting scientists engaged in research conducted at the University) as well as consultants.
This is the first step for institutions in determining whether a financial conflict of interest exists. A significant financial interest is related to the research if an institution, through its designated official(s), reasonably determines that the significant financial interest could be affected by the funded research, or is in an entity whose financial interest could be affected by the research.
Salary and any payment for services not otherwise identified as salary (e.g., consulting fees, honoraria, paid authorship); equity interest includes any stock, stock option, or other ownership interest, as determined through reference to public prices or other reasonable measures of fair market value.
A systematic investigation, including research development, testing and evaluation, designed to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge. Activities which meet this definition constitute research for purposes of this Policy, whether or not they are conducted or supported under a program which is considered research for other purposes.
An individual company, or any entity which takes responsibility for the initiation, management, and/or financing of a research project, but which does not actually conduct the investigation.