Cookies

What a cookie is, and how long it lasts

A cookie is a small text file that a website asks your browser to store on your device. It holds a very small amount of information — an identifier, a preference, a session marker — which the browser sends back to the site on later requests so the site can recognise the same browser. Cookies are not programs: they cannot run code, and they cannot read other files on your device.

Cookies are usually described by how long they last. A session cookie exists only while the browser is open and is discarded when it closes. A persistent cookie carries a set lifespan, stays on the device until that period ends, and can be removed by the visitor at any time before then.

This document explains which of these the Culinary Interior website sets, what a first-time visitor is asked, and how to review or remove what is stored. It applies to culinaryinterior.com only.

The four categories, and which of them apply here

Necessary cookies are the ones a site cannot operate without. This site is built on WordPress, which sets cookies of its own only for people who log in to the administration area or leave a comment. A visitor who does neither is not given a cookie by it. In that everyday sense, necessary cookies are used here, but only in that narrow circumstance.

Functional cookies remember choices a visitor has made — a language, a region, a dismissed notice. This site sets none. The one preference it does record, the answer given to the consent banner, is held in the browser's own local storage rather than in a cookie, and is described in the next section.

Analytics cookies measure how a site is used, counting visits and recording which pages are read. There are no analytics cookies here. The site loads no analytics service of any kind, and no measurement script records pages viewed or time on site.

Marketing cookies follow a visitor between sites to support advertising. There are no marketing cookies and no advertising scripts here. The site loads no third-party tracking script of any kind: every stylesheet, script and image served to your browser comes from this site itself rather than from another domain.

What the consent banner does, and where the answer is kept

On a first visit, a banner appears and asks the visitor to accept or reject cookies. It carries two buttons and no other state: Accept and Reject. Both do exactly the same two things. The answer is recorded, and the banner closes. Nothing is loaded, unlocked or blocked as a result, because there is currently nothing on the site that the answer would govern; the choice is kept so that anything added later can respect it.

The answer is not stored in a cookie. It is a single value in the browser's own local storage, under a key belonging to this site, holding either "accepted" or "rejected". Because it sits in local storage rather than in a cookie, it is never sent to the server, and it is not shared with any other site.

To change the answer, clear this site's data in your browser, using the same settings described in the section below. Removing that stored value returns the site to its unset state, and the banner will appear again on your next visit.

Reviewing and clearing cookies in your browser

Every major browser lets you see what is stored, block categories of it, and remove what is already there. The controls sit in the browser's settings, within its privacy, security or site-data section, though the labels shift between versions, so look for the wording rather than a fixed path.

In Google Chrome, open Settings, then the privacy and security area, where cookies and site data can be viewed and cleared. In Mozilla Firefox, the privacy and security settings carry the cookie controls, including a list of individual sites. In Safari, cookie management sits in the privacy section of the settings, on macOS and on iOS alike. In Microsoft Edge, the same options appear under cookies and site permissions in the settings menu.

Clearing this site's data in any of these browsers also removes the stored consent answer described above.

Questions about this document

If anything here is unclear, or you would like to know what is stored in your browser after a visit, write to [email protected] or call +61 419 566 936. Enquiries can also be sent through the contact page at /contact/.

Please include the browser and device you were using if your question concerns what you can see on screen, as that is usually enough to answer it.