What factors should be considered when choosing between using cookies

Question

In Angular, what factors should be considered when choosing between using cookies or local storage for storing authentication tokens?

Answer 1

When choosing between cookies and local storage for storing authentication tokens in Angular, consider the following factors:

1. Security: Cookies can be secured with flags like HttpOnly and Secure, preventing XSS attacks. Local storage is vulnerable to XSS but immune to CSRF attacks.

2. Expiration: Cookies have built-in expiration mechanisms, while local storage requires manual handling of token expiration.

3. Size Limitations: Local storage has a higher storage capacity compared to cookies.

4. Accessibility: Cookies are sent automatically with each HTTP request, increasing data overhead. Local storage requires explicit handling when sending tokens.

5. Cross-domain Requests: Cookies are limited by the same-origin policy, whereas local storage allows cross-domain access via CORS configuration.