Aceitação do Aviso de cookies e criação de publicidade direcionada: uma decisão consciente ou falta de informação?

Abstract

When surfing the Internet, the user provides data such as age, gender, location, among others, which are captured using cookies - small text files that are stored in web browsers when one visits a website. Several companies use this data to show the user advertising targeted to their interests. However, recent studies show that the use of cookies has privacy-related implications, and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) of the European Parliament is sometimes ineffective in its main purpose. In this context, the purpose of this study is to understand user perception of the use of cookies to create targeted advertising. To carry out the study, a survey was conducted with 242 Portuguese users active on the Internet. The results show that, although users feel uncomfortable with being tracked, they prefer to provide data, by agreeing with cookie policies, and view targeted advertising.