Glossary · Privacy and data governance
Browser storage
Data a website stores in a browser for state, preferences, sessions, or application behavior.
Also called: web storage
Definition
Browser storage includes cookies and Web Storage mechanisms such as localStorage and sessionStorage. Each mechanism has different lifetime, scope, and request behavior, and scripts from approved origins may be able to read stored values.
Why it matters
Storage choices affect privacy disclosures, consent behavior, security, expiration, debugging, and what persists on a shared device.
Common misunderstanding
Removing cookies does not necessarily remove localStorage, sessionStorage, caches, or server-side records.
Related terms
Related system family: Secure Integrations & Custom Tools
Sources
- Web Storage API (opens in a new tab) · MDN Web Docs
- Using HTTP cookies (opens in a new tab) · MDN Web Docs
Last reviewed July 16, 2026