Web-tracking 'cookies' meant to protect privacy: inventor

When discussing his invention, Montulli said the software snippets that let a website recognise individuals helped make possible features such as automatic log-ins or remembering the contents of eCommerce shopping carts. — AFP PHOTO/Lou MONTULLI

SAN FRANCISCO: The data-tracking "cookies" at the heart of concerns over online privacy were meant to shield people, rather than serve as cyber snoops, their inventor told AFP.

California-based engineer and entrepreneur Lou Montulli said the original "cookie" he created decades ago was intended to make life online easier by letting websites remember visitors.