The following classification of possible types of cookies, which are provided as a guide as they are the most common, helps to better understand the functions they perform:

3.1.- TYPES OF COOKIES ACCORDING TO THE ENTITY THAT MANAGES THEM

Depending on the entity that manages the computer or domain from which the cookies are sent and processes the data obtained, we can distinguish:

a) Own cookies:

These are sent to the user’s terminal equipment from a computer or domain managed by the publisher itself and from which the service requested by the user is provided.

b) Third-party cookies:

These are cookies that are sent to the user’s terminal equipment from a computer or domain that is not managed by the publisher, but by another entity that processes the data obtained through the cookies.

In the event that cookies are served from a computer or domain managed by the publisher itself, but the information collected through them is managed by a third party, they cannot be considered first-party cookies if the third party uses them for its own purposes (for example, improving the services it provides or providing advertising services to other entities).

3.2.- TYPES OF COOKIES ACCORDING TO THEIR PURPOSE

There are many purposes for using cookies. Depending on the purpose for which the data obtained through cookies is processed, some of these purposes may include:

a) Technical cookies:

These are those that allow the user to navigate through a website, platform or application and use the different options or services that exist therein, including those that the editor uses to allow the management and operation of the website and enable its functions and services, such as, for example, controlling traffic and data communication, identifying the session, accessing restricted access parts, remembering the elements that make up an order, carrying out the purchase process of an order, managing payment, controlling fraud linked to the security of the service, making the request for registration or participation in an event, counting visits for the purposes of billing for licenses of the software with which the service works (website, platform or application), using security elements during navigation, storing content for the dissemination of videos or sound, enabling dynamic content (for example, animation of loading a text or image) or sharing content through social networks.

Also falling into this category, due to their technical nature, are those cookies that allow for the most efficient management possible of advertising spaces that, as an additional design or “layout” element of the service offered to the user, the publisher has included on a website, application or platform based on criteria such as the edited content, without collecting user information for any other purposes, such as personalizing that advertising content or other content.

Technical cookies are exempt from the obligations established in Article 22.2 of the LSSI when they allow the service requested by the user to be provided, as is the case with the cookies listed in the previous paragraphs. However, if these cookies are also used for non-exempt purposes (for example, for behavioral advertising purposes), they will be subject to these obligations.

b) Preference or personalization cookies:

These cookies allow information to be remembered so that the user accesses the service with certain characteristics that may differentiate their experience from that of other users, such as, for example, the language, the number of results to display when the user performs a search, the appearance or content of the service depending on the type of browser through which the user accesses the service or the region from which they access the service, etc.

If the user selects these features (for example, if they select the language of a website by clicking on the icon of the corresponding country’s flag), cookies will be exempt from the obligations of Article 22.2 of the LSSI, as they are considered a service expressly requested by the user, provided that the cookies are used exclusively for the selected purpose.

c) Analysis or measurement cookies:

These cookies allow the website owner to track and analyze the behavior of users of the websites to which they are linked, including quantifying the impact of advertisements. The information collected through this type of cookie is used to measure website, application, or platform activity in order to introduce improvements based on the analysis of user usage data.

Regarding the processing of data collected through analytical cookies, the WP29 stated that, although they are not exempt from the obligation to obtain informed consent for their use, they are unlikely to pose a risk to users’ privacy provided that they are first-party cookies, that they process aggregated data for strictly statistical purposes, that information is provided about their uses, and that the possibility for users to opt out of their use is included.

d) Behavioral advertising cookies:
These cookies store information about user behavior obtained through continuous observation of their browsing habits, allowing the development of a specific profile to display advertising based on that profile.

3.3.- TYPES OF COOKIES ACCORDING TO THE PERIOD OF TIME THEY REMAIN ACTIVATED

Depending on the length of time they remain activated on the terminal equipment, we can distinguish:

a) Session cookies:

These cookies are designed to collect and store data while the user accesses a website. They are typically used to store information that is only needed to provide the service requested by the user on a single occasion (for example, a list of purchased products) and disappear at the end of the session.

b) Persistent cookies:

These are those in which the data remains stored on the terminal and can be accessed and processed for a period defined by the cookie controller, which can range from a few minutes to several years.