Who Needs Cookies? What You Need to Know About Cookies on Your Website

If you’ve ever seen a “We use cookies” sign and clicked “OK,” you’ve already participated in one of the most widespread online traditions of the 21st century. And no, we’re not talking about desserts.

What are cookies? A simple explanation:

Cookies are tiny files that a website stores in a user’s browser.
They store useful information:

• so that the site “remembers” you on your next visit,
• so that your online shopping cart doesn’t reset,
• so that analytics understands where visitors come from,
• so that ads are shown to those who are truly interested.

Simply put, cookies are a website’s memory of you.

Why are they needed?

1. User experience

With cookies, a website “recognizes” you: it stores your language, currency, login, and the items in your shopping cart.
Without them, the internet would feel like “starting from scratch every time.”

2. Analytics and Performance Improvement

Cookies help website owners understand how users behave: where they came from, what pages they viewed, where they left.
This isn’t tracking, but a tool to make the website work better and deliver exactly what users need.

3. Advertising and Personalization

Cookies allow us to display relevant advertising—not a one-size-fits-all approach, but something that might actually be useful to a specific user.

What types of cookies are there?

To avoid confusion, remember three simple types:

1. Technical (mandatory) cookies—needed for the website to function. Without them, the shopping cart won’t open or the form won’t submit.
2. Analytical cookies—help collect statistics (for example, Yandex.Metrica).
3. Marketing cookies—used for advertising and retargeting.

What is important for website owners to know?

1. If you have analytics or advertising, you’re using cookies.
   Even if you haven’t configured them manually, they’re already working through built-in services.
2. Users must be notified.
   By law, a website is required to warn users that it uses cookies and provide the option to agree.
3. The wording can be simple.
   There’s no need for legalistic phrases like “in accordance with the Decree…”
   A clear pop-up notification is sufficient:
   “We use cookies to improve the website. By continuing to use the website, you agree to this (insert an active link to the document to which the user agrees).”
4. It’s helpful to include a “Cookie Policy” section or a mention in the privacy policy.
   This will demonstrate that you operate according to the rules and are open with users.

What if you don’t provide a notification?

Technically, you can live without it for a while, but:

• You’re violating the requirements of the personal data law.
• You risk being blocked or fined during an audit.
• You’re reducing user trust. People are increasingly paying attention to such details.

When a website honestly states that it uses cookies, it’s perceived not as “surveillance,” but as a sign of transparency and professionalism.

Have you already posted a cookie notice on your website?