What do browser cookies mean?

Browser cookies are small text files that are stored on the user's computer and are used to collect and store information about the user when they interact with the website. When a user visits a website, the website sends a cookie file containing certain information to the user's browser, and the browser stores the cookie on the user's computer's hard drive.

The browser's cookies mainly have the following functions:

Session management: Cookies can be used to track the user's session status. For example, when a user logs into a website, the server generates a cookie containing the user's identity to keep the user logged in when browsing different pages.

• Authentication: Some websites use cookies to verify a user's identity. After the user successfully logs in, the server will send a cookie containing authentication information to the user's browser, and the browser will bring the cookie with each request to prove the user's identity.

• Personalized settings: Websites can use cookies to store users' personalized settings, such as language preferences, theme selection, etc. This allows users to have an experience tailored to their personal preferences when they return to the website.

• Cross-page data transfer: By storing data in cookies, websites can share data between different pages. For example, in a shopping website, after items are added to the shopping cart, the shopping cart data can be transferred between different pages through cookies to maintain the consistency of the shopping cart.

It should be noted that browser cookies are set and used by the website, not by the browser itself. Users can control how cookies are accepted and stored through their browser settings, including disabling or limiting the use of cookies on specific websites to protect their privacy.

The above is the detailed content of What do browser cookies mean?. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!