Local shared object: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 19:58, 26 April 2024

Revision as of 09:39, 20 July 2024

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{{Short description|Adobe Flash data stored on a user's computer}}

Local shared objects have been used by all versions.

{{Redirect2|Sol file|.sol file|mathematical data format|Sol (format)}}

{{Other uses|.sol (disambiguation){{!}}.sol}}

A '''local shared object''' ('''LSO'''), commonly called a '''Flash cookie''' (due to its similarity with an [[HTTP cookie]]), is a piece of data that websites that use [[Adobe Flash]] may store on a user's computer. Local shared objects have been used by all versions of [[Flash Player]] (developed by Macromedia, which was later acquired by [[Adobe Systems]]) since version 6.<ref name="adobe-lso">{{cite web

|url = https://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer/articles/lso/

|title = What are local shared objects?

|work = Security and privacy

|publisher = [[Adobe Systems]]

|access-date = 2007-12-05

|url-status = dead

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100529082335/http://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer/articles/lso/

|archive-date = 2010-05-29

}}</ref>

Flash cookies, which can be stored or retrieved whenever a user accesses a page containing a Flash application, are a form of local storage. Similar to cookies, they can be used to store user preferences, save data from [[Flash game]]s, or track users' Internet activity.<ref>{{cite web|title=When the cookies crumbled, so did your web anonymity|language=en|website=The Guardian|date=2014-10-04|access-date=2023-12-28|url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/oct/05/cookies-crumbled-internet-anonymity|archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20230605133635/https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/oct/05/cookies-crumbled-internet-anonymity|archive-date=2023-06-05}}</ref> LSOs have been criticised as a breach of [[browser security]], but there are now browser settings and addons to limit the duration of their storage.