We keep our cookie use minimal. This page explains every cookie on The Aesthetic Odyssey — what each one does, who sets it, and how you can remove or block it at any time. We do not use cookies for advertising or to sell your data.
1. What Are Cookies?
A cookie is a small text file that a website saves to your device — your computer, phone, or tablet — when you visit it. Cookies are sent back to the website that created them on each subsequent visit, allowing the site to recognise you and remember information about your session.
Cookies serve many purposes. Some are essential for a website to function properly. Others help the website owner understand how people use their site. Some are set by third-party services embedded in a page, like a video player or an analytics tool.
Cookies are not programs. They cannot run code, install software, carry viruses, or access files on your device. They only store small pieces of text.
Cookie Lifespan
- Session cookies — temporary cookies that are deleted automatically when you close your browser. They exist only for the duration of your visit.
- Persistent cookies — cookies that remain on your device for a set period (days, months, or years) or until you manually delete them. They allow a website to remember your preferences across multiple visits.
First-Party vs Third-Party Cookies
- First-party cookies are set directly by theaestheticodyssey.com and are only readable by us.
- Third-party cookies are set by external services — like Google Analytics or YouTube — that are integrated into our pages. These are governed by those third parties' own privacy policies, not ours.
2. How We Use Cookies
We use cookies for three specific purposes on The Aesthetic Odyssey: to remember your preferences, to understand how visitors use our site, and to enable third-party services we have embedded in our pages. We do not use cookies for targeted advertising, retargeting, or to build profiles about individual users for commercial gain.
3. The Cookies We Use
Preference Cookies (First-Party)
These cookies remember choices you have made on the website so you do not have to set them again on your next visit.
| Cookie Name | Purpose | Type | Expires |
|---|---|---|---|
theme |
Stores your dark mode or light mode preference so the correct theme loads on your next visit. | Persistent (localStorage) | Until cleared |
The theme preference is stored using your browser's localStorage, not a traditional cookie. It works similarly but never leaves your device and is never transmitted to our servers or any third party.
Analytics Cookies (Third-Party — Google Analytics)
We use Google Analytics to understand how visitors find and interact with our content. This helps us improve our articles and the overall experience on the site. Google Analytics collects data anonymously — it does not identify you as an individual.
| Cookie Name | Purpose | Set By | Expires |
|---|---|---|---|
_ga |
Distinguishes unique users by assigning a randomly generated number. Used to calculate visitor, session, and campaign data for analytics reports. | Google Analytics | 2 years |
_ga_<ID> |
Used by Google Analytics 4 to persist session state and count page views within a session. | Google Analytics | 2 years |
_gid |
Distinguishes users. Stores and updates a unique value for each page visited. | Google Analytics | 24 hours |
_gat |
Used to throttle the request rate to Google Analytics — limits the collection of data on high-traffic sites. | Google Analytics | 1 minute |
Google Analytics data is processed by Google and stored on Google's infrastructure. You can read Google's full privacy policy at policies.google.com/privacy.
Session Cookies
Some temporary session cookies may be set by your browser or our hosting provider when you visit the site. These cookies do not contain personal information, exist only for the duration of your browser session, and are deleted automatically when you close your browser tab or window.
| Cookie Name | Purpose | Set By | Expires |
|---|---|---|---|
| Session identifiers | Maintain the continuity of your browsing session. May be set by our hosting provider to route traffic correctly. Contain no personal information. | Hosting provider / browser | End of session |
4. Third-Party Cookies
Certain third-party services embedded in our website may set their own cookies on your device. We do not control these cookies — they are governed by the privacy and cookie policies of those third parties. Below is a full list of the third-party services we use that may set cookies.
YouTube (Google LLC)
Some of our pages may include embedded YouTube videos. If you play or interact with an embedded video, YouTube may set cookies on your device to track playback, measure engagement, and (if you are signed into Google) associate your view with your Google account.
- Cookies set include:
VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE,YSC,PREFand others. - These cookies may persist for varying durations — from your session to up to 8 months.
- You can avoid these cookies by not interacting with embedded videos, or by signing out of your Google account.
- YouTube Privacy Policy: policies.google.com/privacy
Google Fonts
We load typography from Google Fonts to display text correctly and consistently. When your browser requests a font file, Google's servers log your IP address and browser information. Google Fonts does not typically set cookies, but your IP address is briefly processed by Google's CDN infrastructure.
- Google Privacy Policy: policies.google.com/privacy
Cloudflare CDN
We use Cloudflare's content delivery network to load certain libraries, including Font Awesome icons. Cloudflare may set a cookie called __cf_bm for bot management purposes. This cookie does not track you across websites and is used solely to distinguish between humans and automated bots.
- Cookie name:
__cf_bm - Purpose: Bot management and security
- Duration: 30 minutes
- Cloudflare Privacy Policy: cloudflare.com/privacypolicy
Email Newsletter Provider
If you visit a page containing our newsletter sign-up form, our email service provider may set cookies related to form tracking or spam prevention. [Placeholder: Insert your newsletter provider name and a link to their cookie policy here — e.g. Mailchimp, ConvertKit, Brevo.]
5. What We Do Not Use Cookies For
We want to be clear about what we do not do with cookies on The Aesthetic Odyssey:
- We do not use cookies to serve targeted or behavioural advertising.
- We do not sell cookie data or browsing behaviour to advertisers or data brokers.
- We do not use cookies to track you across other websites you visit after leaving ours.
- We do not use cookies to build individual user profiles for commercial purposes.
- We do not use cookies to collect sensitive personal information such as financial data, passwords, or health information.
6. How to Control & Disable Cookies
You have full control over cookies on your device. There are several ways to manage them, ranging from blocking all cookies to selectively removing individual ones.
Through Your Browser Settings
Every major browser allows you to view, manage, block, and delete cookies. Click the link for your browser below for step-by-step instructions:
Google Chrome
support.google.com
Mozilla Firefox
support.mozilla.org
Apple Safari
support.apple.com
Microsoft Edge
support.microsoft.com
Brave Browser
support.brave.com
Opera
help.opera.com
Opt Out of Google Analytics Specifically
If you want to stop Google Analytics from tracking your visits across any website — not just ours — you can install the official Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on:
- Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on — available for Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, and Opera.
Opt Out of Interest-Based Advertising
Although we do not use advertising cookies, you can opt out of interest-based advertising from many networks through these industry opt-out tools:
- Your Online Choices (Europe)
- Network Advertising Initiative Opt-Out (US)
- Digital Advertising Alliance Opt-Out (US)
What Happens If You Disable Cookies
Most of our website will continue to work normally if you disable cookies. The only effect you may notice is that your dark/light mode preference will not be saved between visits — you will need to set it again each time you open the site. Disabling Google Analytics cookies will not affect your ability to read or navigate any of our content.
Tip: If you block all cookies in your browser, some third-party embedded content (such as YouTube videos) may not load or function correctly, as these services rely on cookies to operate.
7. Updates to This Cookie Policy
We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time — for example, if we add new third-party services, change how we use analytics, or in response to changes in applicable law. When we do, we will update the effective date at the top of this page.
We encourage you to check this page periodically. Continued use of The Aesthetic Odyssey after any changes to this policy constitutes your acceptance of those changes.
8. Contact Us
If you have any questions about this Cookie Policy or the cookies used on The Aesthetic Odyssey, please get in touch:
- Email: mirichards2002@gmail.com
- Contact page: theaestheticodyssey.com/contact.html
For broader privacy-related questions, please also read our Privacy Policy.