Cookie Policy - Robin Catling

Our Privacy Policy explains our principles when it comes to the collection, processing, and storage of your information. This policy specifically explains how we, our partners, and users of our services deploy cookies, as well as the options you have to control them.

What are cookies?

Cookies are small pieces of data, stored in text files, that are stored on your computer or other device when website are loaded in a browser. They are widely used to “remember” you and your preferences, either for a single visit (through a “session cookie”) or for multiple repeat visits (using a “persistent cookie”). They ensure a consistent and efficient experience for visitors, and perform essential functions such as allowing users to register and remain logged in. Cookies may be set by the site that you are visiting (known as “first party cookies”), or by third parties, such as those who serve content or provide advertising or analytics services on the website (“third party cookies”).

Both website and HTML emails may also contain other tracking technologies such as “web beacons” or “pixels.” These are typically small transparent images that provide us with statistics, for similar purposes as cookies. They are often used in conjunction with cookies, though they are not stored on your computer in the same way. As a result, if you disable cookies, web beacons may still load, but their functionality will be restricted.

How we use cookies

Cookies are used for a number of different purposes. Some cookies are necessary for technical reasons; some enable a personalized experience for both visitors and registered users; and some allow the display of advertising from selected third party networks. Some of these cookies may be set when a page is loaded, or when a visitor takes a particular action (clicking the “like” or “follow” button on a post, for example).

Many of the cookies are only set if you are a registered WordPress.com user (so you don’t have to log in every time, for example), while others are set whenever you visit the website, irrespective of whether you have an account.

For more information on the choices you have about the cookies used, please see the Controlling Cookies section below.

Where we place cookies

Cookies may be set in a number of different locations. These include:

On the website
In the emails we send from the website.

User Sites

In addition to the cookies set on this site, cookies are also set for the Site Stats feature. This tallies the unique numbers of visitors to a site, as well as the number from specific geographic locations. A visitor is counted when we see a user or browser for the first time in a given period.

Examples

Below are examples of the cookies set by WordPress.com, with explanations of their purpose. Some of these cookies are set specific to individual services (e.g. WordPress.com). Please note that this is not an exhaustive list, but rather aims to be representative. Information about cookies that may be set by third parties, such as advertisers on WordPress.com. Additionally, referrer cookies may be set on Jetpack connected sites, using WooCommerce.

In addition, people and companies that use WordPress.com services to publish or host their own sites may place additional cookies. We provide more information on these cookies below.

Advertising

Cookie	Purpose
ads	Tracks if a visitor has clicked an ad before.
lr_nw	Counts and tracks pageviews on Longreads.com. Used to determine whether or not to show our Membership popup message.
wordpress_eli	Reduces the display of ads for repeat visitors.

Please also see the section below on third party advertisements that you may see on the site.

Analytics and Performance

Cookie	Purpose
__pdvt	Used in log of Crowdsignal survey data to aid in debugging customer problems.
_hjIncludedInSample mp_6d7c50ad560e01715a871a117a2fbd90_mixpanel optimizelyBuckets optimizelyEndUserId __hstc hubspotutk optimizelySegments	Gathers information that helps us understand how visitors interact with the website, which allows us to create a better visitor experience.
ab	Used for “AB testing” of new features.
nux_flow_name	Identifies which user signup flow was shown to the user.
tk_ni / tk_ai / tk_qs	Gathers information for our own, first party analytics tool about how our services are used. A collection of internal metrics for user activity, used to improve user experience.
tk_*r	Referral cookies used to analyse referrer behavior for Jetpack connected sites using WooCommerce.
wp-affiliate-tracker	Remembers the ID of the affiliate that referred the current user to WordPress.com
utma / utmb / utmc / utmt / utmz / ga / gat / gid	Google Analytics. Gathers information that helps us understand how visitors interact with the website, which allow us to create a better experience for our visitors.

Functionality

Cookie	Purpose
__stripe_sid / __stripe_mid	For processing payment and to aid in fraud detection.
_longreads_prod_new	Authentication for Longreads.com Member accounts. Only active when logged in, on *.longreads.com domains.
akm_mobile	Stores whether a user has chosen to view the mobile version of a website.
botdlang	Used to track the language a user has selected to view popular blogs in.
landingpage_currency	Defines the currency displayed in WordPress.com landing pages.
pd_dashboard	Records last used folder in Crowdsignal dashboard so it can be reopened upon user’s next visit.
PD_USER_AUTH	Login cookie used to identify Crowdsignal user.
wordpress_logged_in*	Checks whether or not the current visitor is a logged in WordPress.com user.
wp-settings-{user_id}	Persists a user’s wp-admin configuration.
wp_sharing_{id}	Tracks whether or not a user has already performed an action.

Security

Cookie	Purpose
csrftoken	Python/Ajax security cookie used on accounts.longreads.com.

Strictly Necessary

Cookie	Purpose
country_code	Used in order to determine whether or not the cookie banner should be shown. Set immediately on page load and retained for 6 hours to remember the visitor’s country.
sensitive_pixel_option	Remembers the state of visitor acceptance to the cookie banner. Only set when the visitor clicks Accept.
twostep_auth	Set when the user is logged in using two factor authentication.
wordpress_test_cookie	Checks if cookies are enabled to provide appropriate user experience.

Advertisements from Third Parties Through Automattic’s Ads Program

Websites using WordPress.com are ad-supported, with Automattic (the hosting company) showing ads on some users’ sites. We may also choose to place ads on this site through an ad program.

Automattic operates its ads program in partnership with third party vendors. As part of the operation of that ads program, they use cookies to collect certain information. Advertising cookies enable them and their partners to serve ads and to personalize those ads based on information like visits to this sites and other sites on the Internet.

Below is a representative list of the advertising program partners, along with information on the cookies that that each partner sets. The partners in the program change from time to time, and this is not an exhaustive list. Your choices to control cookies related to the ads program are described below.

Partner	Cookie Info
33across	https://33across.com/privacy-policy/ and https://optout.33across.com
Admixer	https://admixer.net/privacy
ADYOULIKE	https://www.adyoulike.com/privacy_policy.php
Amazon	https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/help/customer/display.html/ref=footer_iba?ie=UTF8&nodeId=201909150
AppNexus	https://www.appnexus.com/en/company/cookie-policy
BidSwitch	http://www.bidswitch.com/cookie-statement/
Criteo	https://www.criteo.com/privacy/
Google (AdSense, DoubleClick Ad Exchange “AdX”)	https://policies.google.com/technologies/ads
LKQD	https://www.nexstardigital.com/privacy
Lotame	https://www.lotame.com/about-lotame/privacy/
Media.net	https://www.media.net/privacy-policy
OATH	https://policies.oath.com/us/en/oath/privacy/topics/cookies/index.html
OpenX	https://www.openx.com/legal/privacy-policy/
PowerInBox	https://powerinbox.com/privacy-policy/
Pubmatic	https://pubmatic.com/legal/website-cookie-policy/
Rubicon	https://rubiconproject.com/privacy/consumer-online-profile-and-opt-out/
Skimlinks	https://skimlinks.com/user-cookies and https://skimlinks.com/privacy-policy
Sonobi	https://sonobi.com/privacy-policy/
Teads	https://www.teads.tv/privacy-policy/

Below is a representative list of the cookies that may be set by ad partners in connection with ads that appear in emails.

Cookie	Purpose
pi-userid	Used to personalize email-based ads.
eid_	Used in email-based ads to track if a visitor has clicked an ad and report to advertisers how their ads performed.

Visitors to Sites with Jetpack installed

Below are examples of the cookies set for visitors to sites with the Jetpack plugin installed. For more details on the cookies set for administrators, please see https://jetpack.com/support/cookies/.

Jetpack Comments

Cookie Name	Purpose
comment_author_{HASH}	Remembers the value entered into the comment form‘s name field. Specific to the site from which it is set. This cookie mirrors one set by the core WordPress software for commenting purposes.
comment_author_email_{HASH}	Remembers the value entered into the comment form‘s email field. Specific to the site from which it is set. This cookie mirrors one set by the core WordPress software for commenting purposes.
comment_author_url_{HASH}	Remembers the value entered into the comment form‘s URL field. Specific to the site from which it is set. This cookie mirrors one set by the core WordPress software for commenting purposes

Mobile Theme

Cookie Name	Purpose
akm_mobile	Remembers whether or not a user wishes to view the mobile version of a site.

Subscriptions

Cookie Name	Purpose
jetpack_comments_subscribe_{HASH}	Remembers the state of the post and comment subscription checkboxes.
jetpack_blog_subscribe_{HASH}	Remembers the state of the post and comment subscription checkboxes.

Controlling Cookies

Visitors may wish to restrict the use of cookies or completely prevent them from being set. Most browsers provide for ways to control cookie behaviour such as the length of time they are stored – either through built-in functionality or by utilizing third party plugins. If you disable cookies, please be aware that some of the features of our service may not function correctly.

To find out more on how to manage and delete cookies, visit aboutcookies.org. For more details on your choices regarding use of your web browsing activity for interest-based advertising you may visit the following sites:

On a mobile device, you may also be to adjust your settings to limit tracking.

For example, you can opt out of Google Analytics by installing Google’s opt-out browser add-on, or from Hotjar by using the Do Not Track header.

Internal Analytics Tool

In order to better understand how services are used, Automattic monitors certain user activities that take place within hosted sites, including page views and clicks on any links used when managing a site via our dashboards.

Each one of these actions is termed an “event.” Analytics events are attached to every WordPress.com account and are handled via a first party system that Automattic (the website host) owns and maintains. In general, it records the following data for each event: IP address, WordPress.com user ID and username, WordPress.com-connected site ID (for sites not hosted on WordPress.com), user agent, referring URL, timestamp of event, browser language, and country code.

Automattic uses this information to improve products, make marketing more relevant, personalize the visitor experience, and for the other purposes described in the Privacy Policy.

You may opt out of the analytics program through your user settings. By doing so, you won’t share information with the analytics tool about events or actions that happen after the opt-out, while logged in to your WordPress.com account. Note that opting out does not disable the functionality of the actions tracked, but for an event or action after you opt out, we will not have other data associated with that action or event in the analytics tool.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about our use of cookies, you can find the most relevant contact details in our Privacy Policy.

Category of cookies	Why we use these cookies
Strictly Necessary	These cookies are essential for the website to perform basic functions. These include those required to allow registered users to authenticate and perform account related functions, as well as to save the contents of virtual “carts” on sites that have an e-commerce functionality.
Functionality	These cookies are used to store preferences set by users such as account name, language, and location.
Security	We use these cookies to help identify and prevent potential security risks.
Analytics and Performance	Performance cookies collect information on how users interact with the website, including what pages are visited most, as well as other analytical data. We use these details to improve how the website function and to understand how users interact with them.
Advertising	These cookies are used to display relevant advertising to visitors who visit the website, as well as to understand and report on the efficacy of ads served on the website. They track details such as the number of unique visitors, the number of times particular ads have been displayed, and the number of clicks the ads have received. They are also used to build user profiles, including showing you ads based on products you’ve viewed or acts you have taken on this (and other) websites. These are set by Automattic (the site hosting company) and trusted third party networks, and are generally persistent in nature.
Third Party / Embedded Content	Sites hosted on WordPress.com make use of different third party applications and services to enhance the experience of website visitors. These include social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter (through the use of sharing buttons), or embedded content from Youtube and Vimeo. As a result, cookies may be set by these third parties, and used by them to track your online activity. We have no direct control over the information that is collected by these cookies.

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