system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
When asked for cookies on a website, is it taking information on you already before asking and hoping you click accept? How can one tell if the cookies are being used before approving it on the website?

I guess I'm just wondering, are cookie requests really just asking for forgiveness when prompting? Or are they really not collecting information until you say "I accept."
gpt
Cookies  are one of the most reliable way of tracking you, but there are others. Like a combination of up address and browser information.  There are sites that will display all the information your browser will leak. 

Don’t be fooled into thinking that refusing cookies protects you. They are just the low hanging fruit of monitoring.  

They can  can be used for good, like keeping preferences etc. but like any good thing  they were  turned bad.