User Awareness and Website Implementation of Cookie Notices: A Comparative Study in Croatia

The rapid spread of web cookies has raised many questions about privacy and data security. Despite their benefits, web cookies also raise significant privacy concerns among Internet users. This study examines two critical aspects of this issue: users' awareness and understanding of web cookies and an analysis of cookie notices on the 100 most popular websites in Croatia. The results of a survey of 224 Croatian participants showed that while many are aware of the term web cookie, they often do not know exactly how it works, which prevents them from making informed decisions online. The tendency of users to accept all cookies correlates with the finding that websites often do not offer clear and simple options to opt-out. This complexity and ambiguity of cookie notices discourages online users from proactively managing their cookie preferences. The results of both the survey and the website analysis show a significant discrepancy between users' expectations regarding online privacy and the actual practices of Croatian websites. Despite users' strong preference to reject unnecessary cookies, most websites do not effectively support this preference. This comparison highlights the need for better user education and more transparent cookie management.