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You are a constant companion while surfing the net: cookie banners appear almost every time you visit a new page.

Before you have decided with a click whether cookies should be allowed and, if so, which ones, you cannot go any further.

For many, this is primarily a nuisance that should go away as quickly as possible.

Almost half of all Internet users, according to a survey by the mail providers GMX and Web.de, accept all cookies without even reading the banner.

43 percent are annoyed by the information, as a study by the digital association Bitkom showed.

And that even though more than 100 of these small data records are quickly stored on your own computer when you visit the site.

So are cookie banners, above all, an imposition that makes surfing uncomfortable?

Hardly, thinks Bitkom employee Rebekka Weiß.

"Everyone should deal with the fact that data is being processed."

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Since the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into force in 2018, website providers have had to provide options for using cookies.

So that you don't spend several minutes studying the cookie policy with every new page, you should answer a few basic questions.

How important is data protection to me?

One option is to generally accept all cookies.

And then, "once you've accepted that free services have to be monetized" - and have no problem with using your own data for this, says Weiß.

Then users only have to click the button on the “Agree” or “Accept all” button.

If you don't want that, move on to the next question.

How comfortably do I want to surf?

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If you want data protection but want to do little effort, you usually only need two clicks.

In addition to the “Agree” button, there is an option called “Settings” or “Customize”.

Attention: Often this is inconspicuously gray, while the button for approval is highlighted in color.

If you have found the right button, a list of all cookies that the site provider would like to set is hidden behind it.

Here, too, "Accept all" is usually highlighted in color, but there are alternatives such as "Save and exit" or "Save my selection".

This means that only technically necessary cookies are set and those that fall under "legitimate interest" for the website provider.

If you are not sure about this, take the next step.

Which cookie purposes do I want to support?

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There are roughly three categories.

Technical cookies are necessary for the website to function properly.

For example, they remember which items were placed in the shopping cart when shopping online.

Analytical cookies measure surfing behavior, marketing cookies ensure, among other things, that advertising tailored to the user is displayed.

"As far as possible, you should deselect everything that is not technically necessary," says Klaus Palenberg from the North Rhine-Westphalia consumer center.

The most problematic are cookies that create detailed user profiles.

One should be skeptical, especially when it comes to cookies from third-party providers.

The problem: It is often difficult to see which cookies are being set, explains Holger Bleich, editor of the technology magazine “c't”.

If, for example, only company names are listed in the cookie banner, one can at best guess what type of cookie is behind it.

It is worth taking a closer look at the “Legitimate Interest” tab.

Third-party cookies may not be listed among them, explains Bleich.

Otherwise the term is often "interpreted very, very broadly".

If you are not sure about the goals of a provider, you should go through all cookie options individually.

How tech-savvy am I?

Those who are familiar with add-ons and browser settings can do a lot before surfing.

For example, if you forbid the storage of third-party cookies in your browser, you no longer have to worry about processing cookie banners.

You can also act against tracking cookies to a certain extent.

Another option is to delete cookies at certain intervals.

Then when you call up the page again, all banners pop up again.

How the GDPR is shaking up the internet

More self-determination on the Internet when it comes to your own data.

That was the goal of the new General Data Protection Regulation in 2018.

Above all, it caused extreme confusion - and many annoying emails.

Source: WELT / Erdmann Hummel