What is Cookie, Session and LocalStorage – Quick Overview

Introduction

Have you ever imagined browsing a website and it recalls your language preference or shopping cart items even after you close the browser?

That’s the magic of cookies, session storage, and local storage. In this era, where user experience reigns supreme, grasping these three concepts is akin to possessing a key that unlocks personalized, efficient, and seamless interactions online.

This trio isn’t just about convenience; in fact, it is beneficial for both users and as well as developers of leading Software Development Services.

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Cookie

Cookies are small text files. It stores on the Client. All browser cookies have a maximum capacity of 4 KB. We don’t need a function to start a cookie. Cookies store continuous user verification data on websites. We may turn cookies on or off on a particular site. It helps to create simple and fast website information. User Data Cookies Provide Better User Information, Website Access, and Quick Access.

We can store a maximum of 20 cookies per site. It is a good idea to clear cookies from time to time for certain issues, such as uploading or formatting sites.

When the browser submits a request to the web server the following time, it sends the cookie information to the server, which the server uses to identify the user. Additionally there are different types of cookies including Zombie Cookie.

There are many types of cookies:

• Session Cookie
• Permanent cookies
• Third-party cookies
• Session Cookie

Session Cookie

A session cookie represents a server-specific cookie that only the individual who created the Cookie can send to any machine. A session cookie doesn’t possess an expiration date. Time cookies reside in memory and are never save to the disk. If the browser closes, the Cookies will be permanently delete.

Permanent cookies

Persistent cookies, AKA permanent cookies, delete themselves once the browser gets close, and users can remove them by setting a cookie expiration date.

They remain active even when using the web browser.

Third-party cookies

Third-party companies set third-party cookies to collect specific information from web users for research purposes, such as behavior, demographics, or demolition practices. Advertisers frequently utilize them to display the most relevant ads across websites, targeting the appropriate audience.

Example:

var cookieName = 'test1';
                var cookieValue = '1';
                var myDate = new Date();
                myDate.setDate(myDate.getDate() +30);
                document.cookie = cookieName + "=" + cookieValue + ";expires=" +myDate;

Session

Session Stores User information on the server side For a while. There is no Session Storage Limit. Sessions transfer values from one page to another. Sometimes, the session depends on Cookie. Larger web applications, which require storing much user data, mostly use Server time. Each session receives a unique ID to retrieve saved values. When creating a session, the system stores a cookie containing a unique session ID on the user’s computer and then sends it back to the server along with all subsequent requests.

Each session is unique to each user, and there is no limit to the number of sessions that for a single application.

It is more secure because is on the server, we cannot easily access it. This embeds cookies on the user’s computer. It stores unlimited data.

A session ends when the user quits the browser or leaves the site, or when the server terminates the session after a predetermined amount of time, usually 30 minutes.

Local storage

This is because LocalStorage has many advantages over cookies. One crucial distinction is that, unlike cookies, there’s no need to transmit data with every HTTP request. It minimizes congestion between the Client and server, reducing bandwidth loss. The system stored data on the user’s local disk, which remains intact even if the internet connection has lost. Additionally, as mentioned earlier, LocalStorage can accommodate up to 5MB of data, a significant increase compared to the 4KB capacity of cookies.

LocalStorage is insecure for storing sensitive information and you can access it using any code. So, it is quite insecure.

LocalStore behaves like continuous cookies with expiration. The Data will not destroy automatically unless Javascript code erases it. It can be good for larger data bits that need longer storage.

Example:

localStorage.setItem('Name','Abc');
                alert(localStorage.getItem('Name'));

Cookie vs Session vs LocalStorage

Cookies

• There are several expiration dates (both the server and Client can set up expiration dates)
• The Client can’t access the Cookies if the Http Only flag is set to true.
• Has SSL Support.
• Each HTTP request sends data to the server.
• The maximum file size is 4 KB.

Local Storage

• Has no expiration date.
• Client only.
• No support for SSL.
• It does not transfer Data on every HTTP request.
• 5 MB limit ( 5 megabytes).

Session Storage

• If we close the browser or the tab, session data will be remove automatically.
• Client only.
• No support for SSL.
• It does not transfer Data on every HTTP request.
• 5-10 MB ( megabytes ) limit.
• It’s synchronous.

FAQ