Why do websites ask you to accept cookies?
The Real Answer
Websites ask you to accept cookies because cookies and similar browser-storage tools can remember information such as login state, shopping-cart contents, preferences, analytics, or tracking data, and privacy rules in some jurisdictions require websites to explain certain uses and obtain a valid user choice before using non-essential storage or tracking.
That does not mean every cookie requires the same permission everywhere. Some cookies are strictly necessary for a service the user requested and may be treated differently, while advertising, analytics, or other non-essential uses can trigger stronger notice/consent requirements depending on the law that applies.
So the banner is partly technical and partly legal: the website wants to store or access information on your device, and the rules may require it to tell you what it wants to do and let you accept or refuse particular non-essential uses.
Cookie banners turn reading one paragraph into a negotiation you did not schedule. You reject three categories, open the settings to see what “legitimate interest” means, give up halfway through, hit Accept All, and then spend the next five minutes closing the newsletter popup you were trying to avoid in the first place.
Why People Ask This
People ask because the banner appears before they have done anything that feels privacy-sensitive. A person opens a recipe, article, or store page and is immediately asked to make several technical-looking choices about “cookies,” even though the word itself does not explain what is being stored or why the site needs permission.