Privacy policy and cookies – frequently asked questions

Cookies are small files that are downloaded to your computer or mobile device when you visit a website. Your browser sends these cookies back to the website every time you visit the site again, so it can recognise you. This allows websites to tailor what you see on the screen.

No. Cookies are not viruses, trojans, spyware, or worms or any other kind of malware.

No. Cookies are not programs. They can’t install things you don’t want on your computer.

No, cookies can’t see what is on your computer. Nor can they collect any other information from your computer, nor snoop on your files.

A cookie contains seven main pieces of information:

Domain

The domain (ie, the domain name) of the website that set the cookie.

Name

The name of the cookie

Value

The identifying information the cookie is carrying. This is normally an encrypted string of letters and numbers, that is only meaningful the website that set the cookie.

Expiry

How long the cookie lasts for. If this is not set, the cookie will disappear when you close your browser (session cookies). Otherwise it will delete itself on the date set in the expiry field.

Path

This is not always used, but can be set so that the cookie is only sent when the user is in a particular part of the website. For example if the domain is acme.com, and the path is /accounts, the cookie will only be used when visiting acme.com/accounts.

Secure

This attribute tells the browser to only send the cookie over secure encrypted connections.

Http only

HTTP is HyperText Transfer Protocol. When HttpOnly is enabled, the cookie cannot be accessed via scripts such as JavaScript, only through standard browser HTTP requests.

Yes. You can control what cookies you get, and which cookies you keep, and whether or not your browsing activity data is captured.

We do not recommend all tools for every user; choose the options suitable for your own needs. Any browser cookie settings you change will apply to all websites you visit, not only DailyGmail.

Virtually all modern browsers let you view, delete single or all stored cookies, and configure cookie permissions:

Ask permission before storing each cookie (slows browsing speed)
Block all third-party cookies to opt out of targeted behavioural ads
Blacklist specific untrusted websites to reject their cookies
Auto clear all cookies when closing browser (will erase your opt-out preferences)
Block all cookies entirely — many website features will break

Official browser help guides for cookie management:

Firefox
Internet Explorer
Chrome
Safari OS X
Safari iOS
Android browser
Blackberry
Windows phone

For extra guidance, visit the AboutCookies official website.

You can use dedicated opt-out tools for behavioural advertising tracking.

Most opt-out tools store a special cookie on your device. If you clear all cookies later, your opt-out choice will be removed and you will need to re-submit your opt-out request again.

Besides standard HTTP cookies, our sites also use Flash Local Shared Objects (LSOs) and Silverlight storage tracking, which function similarly to cookies.

You can manage these separately via official preference pages:

Flash preferences page
Silverlight preference page