Cookie Policy

1. What Are Cookies?

Cookies are small text files that are stored on your device when you visit a website. They help the website remember your preferences and improve your browsing experience.

We also use browser local storage, which is similar to cookies but allows for storing more data locally in your browser.

2. How Do We Use Cookies?

We use cookies and local storage for the following purposes:

Essential (Strictly Necessary)
These are required for the website to function. They enable basic features like page navigation, secure login, and access to protected areas. You cannot opt out of these.
Functional (Preferences)
These remember your settings and preferences, such as your preferred theme (light/dark mode) and language selection.
Analytics (Statistics)
These help us understand how visitors interact with our website by collecting anonymous information. We use Google Analytics for this purpose.

3. Your Consent

When you first visit our website, you will see a cookie banner asking for your consent. By clicking "Accept", you agree to the use of all cookies described in this policy.

Essential cookies are always active as they are necessary for the website to function. Analytics cookies are only activated after you give your consent.

To withdraw consent: Clear your browser cookies and local storage, then refresh the page. The cookie banner will appear again.

4. Cookies and Storage We Use

Essential Cookies

Name	Purpose	Duration
wordpress_logged_in_*	WordPress session for logged-in users	Session
wordpress_sec_*	WordPress security cookie	Session
wp-settings-*	WordPress user settings	1 year

Functional Storage (localStorage)

Name	Purpose	Duration
helloblog_theme	Stores your theme preference (light/dark)	Permanent
helloblog_cookie_consent	Stores your cookie consent choice	Permanent
helloblog_announcement_dismissed_*	Remembers dismissed announcement banners	Permanent

Analytics Cookies (Google Analytics)

Name	Purpose	Duration
_ga	Distinguishes unique users	2 years
_ga_*	Maintains session state	2 years

5. Third-Party Services

We use the following third-party services that may store data or make requests from your browser:

Google Analytics

We use Google Analytics to understand how visitors use our website. This helps us improve our content and user experience.

Provider: Google LLC, USA
Data: pages visited, time on site, device info, approximate location
Legal basis: Your consent

Google Privacy Policy · Opt-out Browser Add-on

Gravatar

We use Gravatar to display user profile pictures. Avatar images are loaded from Gravatar servers based on email address hashes.

Provider: Automattic Inc., USA
Data: MD5 hash of email, IP address, browser info
Legal basis: Legitimate interest (user identification)

Automattic Privacy Policy

6. Managing Cookies

You can control cookies through your browser settings. Here's how to manage cookies in popular browsers:

Please note that blocking all cookies may affect website functionality. Essential cookies cannot be disabled as they are required for the site to work.