A cookie is a small text file that a website requests permission to store on the user’s device. Cookies are used on many websites to improve the user experience. Cross-site cookies track users across multiple websites to build detailed browsing profiles.

There are two types of cookies. One type of cookie saves a file for relatively long period on the user’s device. Such cookies have an expiry date. They’re used, for example, to inform the user about content that’s been added since their last visit. When a cookie’s expiry date has passed, it is deleted next time the user visits the website that created it.

The other type of cookie is a session cookie, which is temporary. When a user starts a session by opening a website, a cookie is stored temporarily on the user’s device – for example, in order to remember their language preference. Session cookies are not stored for long on the user’s device; they are deleted automatically when the user closes their web browser or leaves the website and the session ends.

Cookies are used on val.se in order to:

• track whether the user has accepted cookies
• track which server the user session was started on
• track whether the user is anonymous

If you do not want cookies to be stored on your device, you can disable them under “Settings” in your web browser.