When users visit a website and set choices or preferences, persistent cookies may be used to remember these options. Persistent cookies can help isolate and identify a specific client and are capable of traversing a user's path toward a website. They are stored as text files on the hard drive of a computer and usually have expiration dates of one to two years.

Persistent cookies facilitate setting the following preferences:

• Favorites or internal bookmarks
• User authentication
• Login details
• Menu preferences
• Theme selection, if applicable
• Language preferences

Persistent cookies are also capable of providing the browsing behavior of users.