How  Cookies  Work  

 
Cookies  and  other  similar  technologies  help  provide  a  better,  faster,  and  safer  experience.    
 
 
Technologies  like  cookies,  pixels,  and  local  storage  are  used  to  deliver,  secure,  and  understand  products,  
services,  and  ads,  on  and  off  Facebook.  We  want  this  page  to  help  you  understand  more  about  these  
technologies  and  how  they  are  used.    Your  browser  or  device  may  allow  you  to  block  these  technologies,  
but  you  may  not  be  able  to  use  some  features  on  Facebook  if  you  block  them.    Check  back  here  from  time  
to  time  to  get  the  latest  information  about  these  technologies.      
 
 
What  are  cookies,  pixels,  local  storage,  and  similar  technologies?    
 
These  technologies  are  tools  that  websites  and  applications  use  for  security  purposes  and  to  deliver  
products,  services,  and  advertisements,  and  to  understand  how  they  are  used.    With  these  technologies,  a  
website  or  application  can  store  information  on  your  browser  or  device  and  later  read  that  information  
back.    We  explain  more  about  each  of  these  technologies  and  how  they  are  used  on  this  page.    
 
Why  do  we  use  these  technologies?  
 

Show  what  matters  to  you   Improve  your  experience   Protection  and  security  
     
They  help  us  know  who  you  are   They  work  with  Facebook   They  help  secure  Facebook  by  
so  we  can  show  content  that’s   features  and  help  us  improve  our   letting  us  know  if  someone  tries  
most  relevant  to  you,  including   products  and  services  –  so  you   to  access  your  account  or  
features,  products,  and  ads.     can  do  things  like  see  which   engages  in  activity  that  violates  
friends  are  online  in  chat,  use   our  terms.    
share  buttons,  and  upload  
photos.    
 
Categories  of  use   Examples  

Authentication   These  tools  tell  us  when  you’re  logged  in,  so  we  can  show  you  the  appropriate  
experience  and  features.    
 
For  example,  cookies  tell  us  when  you  are  logged  in  to  Facebook  so  we  can  
show  you  relevant  and  social  information  when  you  visit  other  websites  that  
use  our  social  plugins.    We  also  use  this  information  to  understand  how  people  
use  our  Platform  [link:  https://www.facebook.com/about/privacy/your-­‐info-­‐on-­‐
other#platform].  

Security  and  site   We  use  these  to  help  keep  Facebook  safe  and  secure.    They  support  or  enable  
integrity   security  features  and  help  us  detect  activity  that  violates  our  Statement  of  
Rights  and  Responsibilities  [link:  https://www.facebook.com/legal/terms].    
 
For  example,  they  help  protect  your  account  from  being  accessed  by  anyone  
other  than  you.    Cookies  also  let  us  know  when  several  users  have  logged  in  
from  the  same  computer.      

Advertising  
Things  like  cookies  and  pixels  are  used  to  understand  and  deliver  ads  and  make  

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them  more  relevant  to  you.  

 
For  example,  we  may  read  a  cookie  that  tells  us  you’re  logged  into  Facebook  so  
we  can  show  you  ads  that  may  be  interesting  to  you  on  Facebook  or  other  
websites.    We  may  also  use  a  cookie  to  learn  whether  someone  who  saw  an  ad  
on  Facebook  later  visited  the  advertiser’s  site.      Similarly,  one  of  our  partners  
may  use  a  cookie  to  determine  whether  we’ve  shown  an  ad  and  how  it  
performed.    We  also  may  work  with  a  partner  to  show  you  an  ad  on  Facebook  
after  you’ve  visited  the  partner’s  site  and  this  may  involve  the  use  of  cookies.        

Localization   These  help  Facebook  provide  a  localized  experience.    

 
For  example,  we  may  store  information  in  a  cookie  that  is  placed  on  your  
browser  or  device  so  you  will  see  the  site  in  your  preferred  language.    

Site  features  and   These  provide  functionality  that  help  us  deliver  products  and  services.      
services    
For  example,  cookies  help  you  log  in  by  pre-­‐filling  the  username  field  and  help  
make  chat  a  better  experience  by  showing  which  of  your  friends  are  online.    We  
may  also  use  cookies  to  help  us  provide  you  with  social  plugins  and  other  
customized  content  and  experiences.  

Performance  
We  use  these  to  provide  you  with  the  best  experience  possible.    
 
For  example,  we  may  use  a  cookie  to  help  us  route  traffic  between  servers  and  
understand  how  quickly  Facebook  loads  for  different  users.    Sometimes  we  may  
store  information  on  your  browser  or  device  so  Facebook  features  you  are  using  
load  and  respond  faster.      

Analytics  and  research   These  are  used  to  understand,  improve,  and  research  products  and  services.    
 
For  example,  we  may  use  cookies  to  understand  how  you  are  using  social  
plugins  to  improve  them.    We  may  also  use  a  cookie  to  understand  the  ads  
served  by  us  and  our  partners.    
 
The  specific  names  of  the  cookies,  pixels  and  other  similar  technologies  that  we  use  may  change  from  
time  to  time,  but  they  generally  will  fall  into  the  above  categories.    If  you’d  like  to  learn  more  about  these  
tools,  review  our  Data  Use  Policy.    You  can  also  take  a  look  at  the  cookies  section  of  our  publicly  available  
audit  that  provides  a  snapshot    of  the  cookies  we  use,  which  was  performed  by  the  Irish  Data  Protection  
Commissioner’s  Office  [http://dataprotection.ie/viewdoc.asp?DocID=1182].    This  will  give  you  a  good  idea  
of  the  cookies  we  describe  on  this  page.  
 
*      *      *  
 
What  are  cookies?  
 
Cookies  are  small  files  that  are  placed  on  your  browser  or  device  by  the  website  or  app  you’re  using  or  ad  
you’re  viewing.  Like  most  websites,  we  use  cookies  to  provide  you  with  a  better,  faster,  or  safer  
experience.    
 
How  does  Facebook  use  cookies?  
 
We  use  cookies  to  make  Facebook  better,  faster,  and  safer.  For  example,  cookies  help  us  to:  

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• Enable  certain  features;  

• Provide  you  with  a  more  personalized  experience;  
• Protect  the  security  of  your  account,  the  accounts  of  others,  and  Facebook;    
• Improve,  deliver,  and  understand  the  ads  you  see  on  and  off  Facebook;  and  
• Research  and  understand  the  use  of  our  products  and  services.  

 
As  our  Data  Use  Policy  indicates,  we  use  cookies  to  show  you  ads  on  and  off  Facebook.    We  do  not  use  
cookies  to  create  a  profile  of  your  browsing  behavior  on  third-­‐party  sites  to  show  you  ads,  although  we  
may  use  anonymous  or  aggregate  data  to  improve  ads  generally  and  information  we  receive  to  study,  
develop  or  test  new  and  existing  products  or  services.  
 
Learn  more  [link:  https://www.facebook.com/about/privacy/your-­‐info-­‐on-­‐other#socialplugin]  about  the  
information  we  receive  when  you  visit  a  site  with  a  social  plugin.  
 
When  might  Facebook  place  cookies  on  my  machine?  
 
Facebook  may  place  cookies  when  you  visit  us  using  a  browser  or  device  that  permits  the  placement  of  
cookies.    Your  browser  or  device  may  allow  you  to  block  these  technologies,  but  you  may  not  be  able  to  
use  some  features  on  Facebook  if  you  block  them.    
 
When  might  Facebook  read  the  cookies  on  my  machine?  
 
The  way  web  browsers  work  is  to  send  any  cookies  for  a  particular  web  domain,  such  as  facebook.com,  to  
the  website  each  time  a  machine  with  those  cookies  accesses  content  served  from  that  domain.    This  
means  that  any  facebook.com  cookies  will  be  sent  to  Facebook  when  any  page  is  accessed  at  
facebook.com.    It  also  means  that  these  cookies  are  sent  to  Facebook  when  someone  accesses  a  third  
party  website  that  has  a  connection  to  facebook.com,  like  through  one  of  our  plugins.    Your  browser  or  
device  may  allow  you  to  block  these  technologies,  but  you  may  not  be  able  to  use  some  features  on  
Facebook  if  you  block  them.      
 
What  are  pixels  and  how  does  Facebook  use  pixels?  
 
Pixels  are  small  blocks  of  code  on  a  webpage  that  allow  websites  to  do  things  like  read  and  place  cookies.  
The  resulting  connection  can  include  information  such  as  the  user’s  IP  address,  the  time  the  user  viewed  
the  pixel,  the  type  of  browser  being  used,  and  will  automatically  send  information  from  the  cookies  
placed  by  the  service  responsible  for  the  pixel.  
We  use  pixels  to  customize  your  experience  and  learn  about  how  people  use  products  and  services.  For  
example,  we  can  use  pixels  to  see  that  a  person  using  a  certain  browser  saw  an  ad  on  Facebook  and  also  
bought  a  product  from  that  advertiser.  This  helps  us  show  advertisers  that  the  ads  they  run  on  Facebook  
are  effective.  
 
What  is  local  storage  and  how  does  Facebook  use  local  storage?  
 
Local  storage  is  an  industry-­‐standard  technology  that  allows  a  website  or  app  to  store  and  retrieve  data  
on  a  person’s  computer,  mobile  phone,  or  other  device.    Some  examples  include  device  or  HTML5  local  
storage  and  caching.  Most  web  browsers  offer  settings  for  you  to  control  whether  or  not  to  allow  local  
storage.  
 
We  use  local  storage  to  understand  and  improve  how  our  products  and  services  perform  and  to  enable  
certain  features.  For  example,  we  may  store  certain  parts  of  the  Facebook  website  on  your  device  so  that  
those  pages  load  faster  the  next  time  you  visit  them.    Local  storage  also  allows  us  to  provide  certain  

  3  
  

services  to  someone  who  doesn’t  have  access  to  the  internet.    For  example,  you  can  read  and  compose  
messages  in  the  Facebook  Messenger  app  when  you’re  offline  because  we  store  those  messages  locally  
on  your  device.  
 
How  do  third  parties  use  cookies,  pixels,  and  other  similar  technologies  on  Facebook?    
 
We  sometimes  use  service  providers  [link:  https://www.facebook.com/about/privacy/other]  to  help  us  
provide  our  products  and  services.    For  example,  we  use  service  providers  to  help  you  buy  things  using  
Facebook  on  your  mobile  phone.    As  part  of  those  services,  a  provider  may  use  a  pixel  to  collect  
information  about  your  phone  so  that,  if  you  choose,  it  can  help  us  conveniently  bill  you  through  your  
regular  phone  bill.  
 
When  you  view,  click,  or  otherwise  interact  with  an  ad  or  app  on  or  off  Facebook,  our  partners  use  
cookies  to  help  provide  you  with  relevant  services  and  ads.    For  example,  a  platform  partner  may  use  
cookies  to  customize  your  experience  while  you’re  using  their  app.    Or,  an  advertising  partner  may  use  a  
cookie  to  determine  whether  we’ve  shown  an  ad  and  how  it  performed.      
 
To  learn  more  about  how  advertisers  generally  use  cookies  and  the  choices  they  offer,  you  can  review  the  
following  resources:    
 
• Network  Advertising  Initiative,[link  to:  
http://www.networkadvertising.org/managing/opt_out.asp]    
• Digital  Advertising  Alliance,[link  to:  http://www.aboutads.info/]  
• Internet  Advertising  Bureau  (US),  and[link  to:  www.iab.net]    
• Internet  Advertising  Bureau  (EU).[link  to:  http://youronlinechoices.eu/]  

To  learn  more  about  how  some  of  the  most  common  advertisers  and  their  partners  use  cookies  and  the  
choices  they  offer,  you  can  review  the  following  resources:    
 
Atlas   General  information  [http://atlassolutions.com/home]  
Choices  [https://choice.live.com/AdvertisementChoice/Default.aspx]  
Bloom  Digital   General  information  [http://bloom-­‐hq.com/]  
Choices  [http://adgear.com/privacy/]  
DoubleClick   General  information  [http://www.google.com/doubleclick/index.html]  
Choices  [http://www.google.com/policies/privacy/ads/]  
Flashtalking   General  information  [http://www.flashtalking.com/]  
Choices  [http://www.flashtalking.com/ftCookieOptOut.html]  
GroupM   General  information  [http://www.groupm.com/]  
Choices  [http://www.groupm.com/privacy-­‐policy]  
Mediamind   General  information  [http://www.mediamind.com/]  
Choices  [http://www.mediamind.com/privacy-­‐policy]  
Mediaplex   General  information  [http://www.mediaplex.com/]  
Choices  [http://www.mediaplex.com/opt-­‐out]  
Pointroll   General  information  [http://www.pointroll.com/]  
Choices  [http://www.pointroll.com/privacy.php]  
TruEffect   General  information  [http://trueffect.com/  
Choices  [http://ad.adlegend.com/TE_optout.html]  
Weborama   General  information  [http://weborama.com/]  
Choices  [http://weborama.com/2/page-­‐en-­‐confidentialite.html]  
 
 
Does  Facebook  use  cookies  if  I  don't  have  an  account  or  have  logged  out  of  my  account?  

  4  
  

 
Facebook  does  use  cookies  if  you  don’t  have  an  account  or  have  logged  out  of  your  account.    For  example,  
we  use  cookies  to  help:    
• Identify  and  disable  the  accounts  of  spammers;  
• Prevent  people  who  are  underage  from  signing  up  with  a  false  birth  date;  
• Recover  your  account  if  you  ever  lose  access  to  it;  
• Provide  extra  security  features  like  login  notifications  and  login  approvals;  and  
• Identify  public  computers  so  that  we  can  discourage  people  from  using  “Keep  me  logged  in.”  

We  may  also  use  anonymized  or  aggregated  information  to  improve  our  products.  
 
We  also  set  cookies  if  you  don’t  have  a  Facebook  account  but  have  visited  facebook.com  to  help  us  
protect  Facebook  and  the  people  who  use  it  from  malicious  activity.  For  example,  these  cookies  help  us  
detect  and  prevent  denial-­‐of-­‐service  attacks  and  the  mass  creation  of  fake  accounts.      
 
Also,  if  you  have  cookies  on  your  browser  or  device  when  you  visit  a  site  with  a  social  plugin,  we  read  
those  cookies  at  that  time.    Learn  more  [link:  https://www.facebook.com/about/privacy/your-­‐info-­‐on-­‐
other#socialplugin].  
 
As  our  Data  Use  Policy    indicates,  we  use  cookies  to  show  you  ads  on  and  off  Facebook.    We  do  not  use  
these  cookies  to  create  a  profile  of  your  browsing  behavior  on  third-­‐party  sites  to  show  you  ads.    However,  
we  may  use  anonymous  or  aggregate  information  to  improve  ads  generally  and  information  we  receive  to  
study,  develop  or  test  new  and  existing  products  or  services.  
 
 
How  does  Facebook  use  cookies  for  security  purposes?    
 
We  use  tools  like  cookies  to  help  keep  Facebook  safe,  secure  and  easy  to  use.    They  support  or  enable  
security  features,  like  Login  Approvals  (which  help  protect  your  account  from  unauthorized  access).    For  
example,  with  Login  Approvals,  if  someone  logs  into  your  account  from  a  browser  that  you’ve  never  used  
before,  we’ll  block  them  and  ask  for  more  information.  They  also  help  us  to  implement  login  notifications,  
so  you  can  be  alerted  when  your  account  has  been  accessed  and  you  can  disable  active  Facebook  sessions.    
These  extra  security  features  are  valuable  for  all  users  and  help  to  maintain  security  for  the  entire  site.    
 
Besides  helping  to  keep  unauthorized  people  from  logging  into  your  account,  we  also  use  cookies  to  help  
make  sure  the  people  or  machines  that  access  Facebook  don’t  violate  our  policies.    For  example,  certain  
information  on  Facebook  is  Public  and  therefore  can  be  accessed  by  anyone  on  the  Internet.    These  
cookies  help  us  to  detect  and  stop  people  or  machines  from  “scraping”  information  from  our  site  by  
understanding  the  volume  and  frequency  of  requests.      
 
We  also  use  these  tools  to  make  Facebook  easier  to  use,  like  when  you  mistype  one  character  of  your  
username  or  password.    If  you’ve  already  logged  into  Facebook  from  the  same  browser,  we’ll  give  you  
easier  options  to  correct  your  typo  and  continue  because  we  know  you’ve  successfully  logged  into  
Facebook  before.      
 
Why  does  Facebook  add  cookies  to  any  browser  that  visits  its  websites?  
 
Cookies  are  set  to  provide,  understand,  and  improve  a  range  of  products  and  services.    These  cookies  also  
help  keep  Facebook  and  the  people  who  use  Facebook  safe  and  secure.    By  understanding  visitor  habits  
and  patterns,  we  can  help  detect  unusual  behavior  and  help  protect  people  from  unauthorized  activities.    
   

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