What is the primary purpose of cookies in web technology?

Cookies are small pieces of data that are stored on a user's device by the web browser while browsing a website. The primary purpose of cookies is to track user activity and store preferences. This enables websites to remember information about the user, such as login credentials, shopping cart items, language settings, and other personal preferences. By doing so, cookies enhance the user experience by providing a more personalized interaction on subsequent visits to the website.

They allow sites to maintain stateful information across sessions, meaning that even if a user navigates away from the page or closes the browser, the next time they return, the site can recall their previous activity or settings. This is essential for features like user sessions where staying logged in enhances usability.

While cookies may have secondary effects such as potentially improving loading times indirectly by remembering user settings or preferences, their main function revolves around tracking user activities and storing preferences to provide a customized experience.