Flash cookies pose a security problem to anyone browsing the internet.
Web users are not yet deleting Flash cookies as often as they shed more traditional cookies, but that doesn't mean it's a good idea to use Flash technology to track consumers online. That's according to a new report commissioned by media audit company BPA Worldwide. The report, authored by analytics expert Eric Peterson, warns that the use of Flash cookies, also called "local shared objects," to override consumers' choices could invite new privacy laws. "With the attention given to consumer privacy on the Internet at both individual and governmental levels, we believe that companies making inappropriate or irresponsible use of the Flash technology are very likely asking for trouble, (and potentially putting the rest of the online industry at risk of additional government regulation)," writes Peterson, CEO and principal consultant at Web Analytics Demystified. Several years ago, Peterson shook up the online ad industry with a report that around 40% of Web users deleted their cookies at least monthly. Before that research was published, many industry observers assumed that relatively few people trashed cookies.
Flash cookies are not stored in the same place as HTTP cookies, which means that users who tell their browsers to delete cookies aren't getting rid of Flash cookies. Users can erase Flash cookies through other means, including at Adobe's online controls. But at this point, few people appear to be aware that Flash cookies even exist.
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