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Difference between cookie, sessionStorage, and localStorage

Cookie, sessionStorage, and localStorage are all methods used to store data on the client side, but they have different characteristics and use cases:

Cookies

  • Capacity: 4KB
  • Accessibility: All windows
  • Expiration: Manually set
  • Passed in HTTP request: Yes
  • Storage: Browser and Server
  • Use cases: session management, personalization, tracking, and analytics

Session Storage

  • Capacity: 5MB
  • Accessibility: Private for tab
  • Expiration: On tab close
  • Passed in HTTP request: No
  • Storage: Only browser
  • Use cases: similar to localStorage with a limitation of data expiration on tab close

LocalStorage

  • Capacity: 5/10 MB, depending on the browser
  • Accessibility: All windows
  • Expiration: Never
  • Passed in HTTP request: No
  • Storage: Browser only
  • Use cases: save user preferences and settings, cache date to reduce server requests, shopping cart state