Difference between local storage, session storage, and cookies

In web development, the ability to store data on the client-side is an essential component of building robust and feature-rich web applications. With the introduction of HTML5, we have been given several options to store or cache information on the client browser, including cookies, local storage, and session storage. Each of these storage mechanisms has its own unique advantages and limitations, making it important to understand their differences.

In this article, we will help you understand how these storages work, their pros and cons, use cases, and compare local storage, session storage, and cookies against some standard parameters.

Let’s get started!

Local storage

What is local storage?

Web apps save data locally on the user's device using a browser feature called local storage. Local storage is usually in the form of key-value pairs, and is stored in the browser's memory. The key is a unique identifier, associated with a specific value, and is use to retrieve the related value.

This data can still be read and modified by the program even when the user closes the browser and opens it again later. Despite the similarities between local storage and cookies, there are a few significant variations.

Local storage is effective in reducing traffic over the network as it sends fewer requests to the server. Moreover, local storage has a bigger data storage capacity than session storage or cookies.

How does local storage work?

Local storage is implemented using the HTML5 standard's Web Storage API. Web Storage API provides localStorage and sessionStorage objects to perform operations on local storage.

Any page from the same domain may access persistent storage space provided by the localStorage object. Until it is manually deleted by the user or the program, data kept in localStorage is kept there eternally. Similar storage space is provided by the sessionStorage object, but the information is only accessible by the page that created it and is removed at the end of the browser session.

Take a look at code to know how a local storage can be used to store and retrieve data:

    

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// Store data in local storage
localStorage.setItem('username', 'Anom');
localStorage.setItem('LogIn', true);

// Retrieve data from local storage
const username = localStorage.getItem('username');
const LogIn = localStorage.getItem('LogIn');

// Remove data from local storage
localStorage.removeItem('Anom');

console.log(username); // "Anom"
console.log(LogIn); // "true"

Advantages

Disadvantages

Use cases

Here are some common use cases of local storage:

1. User preferences: Local storage can be used to keep track of user preferences, such as preferred languages, themes, or layouts. It offers users a better and more personalized experience across all devices.
2. Application cache: The web application stores frequently visited data and assets locally, using local storage as an application cache. This lowers the amount of network traffic needed to load the application.
3. Shopping cart: It allows users to add or remove where local storage can be utilized to keep the items in their shopping cart. Due to this, users will get a seamless shopping experience.
4. Offline access: Data that can be accessible even when the device is offline or has poor network connectivity might be stored in local storage.
5. Login state: User can save his/her login details in the local storage and stay logged in even if the browser is closed.

Session storage

What is session storage?

Web developers can keep data on a user's device for a single browsing session thanks to the session storage. Session storage is only available till the session is present, this means it will erase all the data after user exits the website.

We can say that it creates a temporary storage object which is scoped to the current browsing context and is not shared between different browser tabs or windows.

How does session storage work?

The window is available to web applications when they need to store data in session storage. The sessionStorage object provides a key-value store interface, just like local storage. The web application may establish values for specific keys in session storage while the user is browsing; these values may later be retrieved and modified.

Here is an example of how data can be stored and retrieved using session storage:

    

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// Store data in session storage
sessionStorage.setItem('username', 'Anom');
sessionStorage.setItem('LogIn', true);

// Retrieve data from session storage
const username = sessionStorage.getItem('Anom');
const LogIn = sessionStorage.getItem('LogIn');

// Remove data from local storage
sessionStorage.removeItem('Anom');

console.log(username); // "Anom"
console.log(LogIn); // "true"

Advantages

Disadvantages

Use cases

Here are some common use cases on when to use session storage:

1. Form data: Session storage is a good way to store data captured in a web form. This data can include user name, email address, phone number, or any other information website owner chooses to ask for.
2. User preferences:  It allows developers to record user preferences, such as selected language, location, time zone, etc. through which you can create a personalized experience for your users.
3. Shopping cart: All the goods added to a shopping cart can be saved in session storage and at the time of navigating you can add or delete those goods. One more thing, when a user ends a browser session or completes a transaction, this data is removed.
4. Authentication tokens: Session storage, which saves authentication tokens or session IDs, allows the user to remain logged into the web application. After the user signs out or quits the browser, this data is removed.
5. Game state: The session storage can hold data related to user's game score, level, and even progress. Allowing them to pick up right from where they left the game or closed the browser.

Cookies

What are cookies?

When a user accesses a website, a web server generates small text files known as cookies, and the user then keeps these data on their device. Cookies are used to track user behavior, remember user preferences, and deliver customized web experiences.

A key-value pair and an expiration date are both part of a cookie. The value, which contains details about the user or their activity on the website, can be retrieved using the key, a special identifier. Cookies have expiration dates before being uninstalled from a device automatically.

How do cookies work?

1. The user visits a website for the first time. The website's server sends a cookie to the user's browser, which is stored on the user's device.
2. The user interacts with the website, such as logging in or adding items to a shopping cart. The website may use the cookie to remember the user's preferences or to keep the user logged in during their browsing session.
3. When a user visits website again, cookies are send back by the browser where server receives the information and uses it to customize the user experience.

Advantages

Disadvantages

Use cases

1. Advertising: Cookies can track user behavior and interests and hence can be use to displaying relevant ads to end users. This can boost conversion rate and make it easier for advertisers to connect with their target audience.
2. E-commerce: Cookies can record data related to login, shipping, and even items in shopping carts. Developers can use these informations to improve user experience and make the checkout process smoother.
3. Analytics: Cookies can track different kinds of data on your website, like user behavior, location, device, reference site, and more. Website owners can use this data can help them improve user experience and make business decisions.
4. Security: Cookies can prevent fraud and unauthorized access. It can store login credentials and authenticate the user when trying to log in. Cookies can also identify multiple login attempts from different locations or devices.
5. Integration of social media: Cookies are used by social media platforms to track user behavior and preferences. It makes a note of language, time zone, location, likes, shares, and even comments, to deliver a personalized and optimised user experience.

Local storage vs session storage vs cookies

This table represents how local storage, session storage, and cookies stack against each other.

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Conclusion

Building good online apps requires an understanding of the differences between local storage, session storage, and cookies. We know that cookies have been around for 1994, while local storage and session storage were introduced with HTML in 2008. Both local storage and session storage are more adaptable and have greater storage space, making them suitable for a wide range of use cases.

By selecting the appropriate storage method, you can enhance the performance and user experience of your web application. So next time you're building a web app, keep in mind the differences between local storage, session storage, and cookies to make the most of browser storage.

That’s all for now. Happy coding!