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 DigInGuide puts there, and why.
When this page changes
Cookies come and go as services change, and this page follows them. It is updated when something actually changes, not periodically for appearance, and the date above says when.
What we use
- Technical. Delivery, security, and the record of your own cookie answer. Refusing these leaves a site that does not work.
- Readership. Google Analytics tells us which pages are actually read and which are ignored. It counts visits, not people.
- Ad selection. Google AdSense reads and writes cookies to pick the ads on the page and avoid showing one too often.
How long they last
Duration is not uniform. What the site needs to work is discarded on exit; what measures and advertises stays until it expires or you delete it.
The actual names
- _ga and _gid come from Google Analytics and exist to tell browsers apart when counting visits.
- __gads and __gpi come from Google AdSense, which uses them to pick ads and limit repeats.
- wordpress_test_cookie and the wp-settings-* family are WordPress internals: a capability check and your display preferences.
- comment_author_* appears only after you comment, and only so the form is pre-filled the next time.
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.
Switching them off for good
- To stop personalised ads everywhere, not just here: adssettings.google.com.
- To stop Google Analytics from counting you anywhere: the opt-out browser add-on at tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.
- To handle it locally: your browser’s privacy settings block or delete cookies, per site or across the board.
Asking first
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.
Embeds
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.
Do Not Track
We make no claim about Do Not Track: the signal has never been standardised into an obligation. What works is refusing the cookies, by the means listed above.
Your choice
Your browser can delete any of this at any moment, without asking us. Keep the technical cookies if you want pages to behave; the others are optional.
Contact
Questions go to the contact page.