What is the difference between a session and a cookie?

What is the difference between a session and a cookie?

Blog Article

A cookie is a small piece of data stored in the user’s browser. It is used to track user activity, store preferences, or maintain session information. Cookies are sent with every request to the server, making them useful for authentication and personalization.

A session is a server-side storage mechanism that stores user data temporarily. Unlike cookies, session data is not sent to the client but is stored on the server. A session ID is often stored in a cookie to link the user to their session data.

In full-stack development, cookies are used for lightweight data storage, while sessions are used for secure storage of sensitive information like user credentials. Both are essential for maintaining state in stateless HTTP protocols.