Revised 9/12/2020

Cookies in “real life” are delicious baked goods that are best eaten fresh.  Healing in Homes is not a website dedicated to those kind of cookies, so you need only be informed of cookies involving websites, often known as browser cookies or tracking cookies.  These cookies are usually small text files that are created when you use your browser to visit a website.  They keep track of your movements and preferences within a site, help to resume where you left off, remember your registered login, theme selection, preferences and other customization functions, and help to ensure that the platform is secure and safe to use.  Most major websites use them, especially those with huge databases, those that need logins, and those that have customizable themes and other advanced features. Cookies usually cannot be used to reveal your identity or personally identifying information, but they can be used to create a profile of your internet surfing habits, which is then used to customize marketing ads based on your browsing interests.

Some cookies, called session cookies, are created temporarily in your browser directory while you are visiting a site.  Once you leave the site, the session cookie is deleted.  Persistent cookies, on the other hand, remain in your browser directory for a specific period of time.  They are activated anew each time you visit the website that created that particular cookie. 

Cookies typically contain the URL of the website that created the cookie, the duration (or “lifetime”) of the cookie’s abilities and effects, and a randomly generated unique number.  The website server stores a corresponding file with the same number.  Cookies act like virtual door keys.  They unlock a computer’s memory and allow a website to recognize you, activate your preferences, etc. when you return to the site.  Only the server that sent the cookie can read and use that particular cookie. 

If you want to learn more about cookies, read All About Cookies.