Browsers store small files called cookies on behalf of the sites you visit. They are how anything is remembered between page loads. These are the ones VeganStove puts there, and why.
Revisions
Expect this list to move over time. It is revised whenever the underlying services change, and the revision date sits at the top of the page.
What we use
- Site function. Loading pages, keeping the connection secure, and storing the cookie choice you already made.
- Traffic measurement. Through Google Analytics we see totals: pages opened, time spent, where the visit came from. Never a name.
- Advertising. AdSense cookies decide which ads are worth showing you and cap how many times each one appears.
How long this is kept
The shortest of these die with the browser session. The longest are Google’s, and they outlive a single visit by months.
Named cookies
- Analytics sets _ga and _gid: they separate one browser from another and nothing more.
- Advertising sets __gads and __gpi, used by AdSense to choose ads and cap how often each is shown.
- WordPress itself sets wordpress_test_cookie to verify cookies function, plus wp-settings-* for preferences.
- Commenting sets comment_author_* so you do not retype your details.
To be explicit about the limits: no cookie described here accesses your device beyond the browser, follows you into other apps, or is passed to a data broker. None is designed to identify you personally.
Browser signals
Do Not Track headers exist but mean different things to different operators, so we do not claim to act on them. The controls above are the ones with a predictable result.
Consent
Anything beyond the strictly necessary is set only after you have answered, in the regions where that is required. Your answer is stored in your browser and nowhere else.
Switching them off for good
- Advertising preferences are managed at adssettings.google.com, and the setting follows you across every site that uses Google ads.
- Measurement can be switched off for good with Google’s opt-out add-on, at tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.
- Browser settings remain the blunt instrument: block, clear, or refuse per site, with no cooperation needed from us.
Embedded content
An embedded player or map is served by its own operator, and it can set cookies when it loads. Refusing third-party cookies in your browser is what stops that.
Refusing them
Browser settings let you refuse cookies site by site or across the board. Reading stays exactly the same without the analytics and ad cookies.
Getting in touch
Questions go to the contact page.