Recalls

T E C H U P D AT E

What to Do About Digital Cookies

Y O U G O T O a new website and a box pops up, asking you to accept “cookies” or, in some cases, choose your cookie preferences. You may be wondering whether to say yes to these digital tools, which are tiny blocks of text that a website stores on your computer, phone, or tablet, with a unique identifi er for each use.

“It’s not the end of the world, but I’d just as soon not have dozens of companies tracking every website that I go to,” says Justin Brookman, director of technolog y policy at CR. “Cookies aren’t the only way that data brokers track you, but they’re the primary way online.”

Some cookies are pretty innocuous, and are used primarily to help a website function properly, or perhaps to keep you logged in or remember what products you previously put in your cart.

But companies and website developers may also insert cookies from third parties such as Google and Meta (Facebook’s parent company). These tech companies use cookies to keep an eye on what you do in a wide variety of places online, and often, to serve you targeted advertisements on other websites and on social media. CR’s Brookman says this is an invasion of privacy.

To maintain your privacy, the simplest and most eff ective approach may be installing what’s called a tracker blocker or ad blocker such as Disconnect, Privacy Badger, or uBlock Origin.

These tools can stop websites from sharing information about you. “Then you don’t have to worry about every website’s cookies,” says Brookman.

One downside: Some websites may require you to disable your tracker temporarily to use the site, a decision that you can make on a case-by-case basis.

You can also accept only those cookies that a website requires for its functionality—which may be called something akin to “strictly necessary” cookies. Sites “tend to let you turn off other categories without consequences” like blocking your access, Brookman says.

But doing this kind of picking and choosing can be time-consuming. And it’s not even guaranteed to work all the time: One Consumer Reports writer discovered that some websites tracked him even after he said no to cookies.

T H E B E T T E R D E A L

L U X U R Y S U V s

TH E LOWDOWN

H I G H E R P R I C E $49,050 - $72,700

0 ! Acura MDX

PRICE* $55,125

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OVERALL S CO R E B E T T E R P R I C E $35,250 - $51,100

0 ! Hyundai Palisade

PRICE** $48,700

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OVERALL S CO R E

TH E TH REE- ROW Acura MDX has a potent powertrain and well-finished cabin. But its infotainment system is distracting, it requires premium gas, and you need to get at least the “Tech” level trim in order to have common luxe features. The well-equipped Hyundai Palisade Limited costs substantially less than the Acura, with an easy-to-use infotainment system and abundant pampering features. It also has 1 mpg better fuel economy at 21 mpg overall and uses regular gas, which will provide you with long-term savings.