Cookie Policy
An explanation of browser storage, analytics and advertising technologies.
Editorial draft — consent setup and inventory still required. This page is based on the stated use of Google Analytics, Google AdSense, Meta Pixel, WoodMart and Contact Form 7. It is not the result of a live cookie scan.
The consent controls described below are the intended setup, not a verified existing feature. Do not publish this draft as a completed policy until those controls work and the highlighted details have been completed.
01. About this policy
This Cookie Policy explains cookies and similar technologies used in connection with The Gown Directory at thegowndirectory.com. Read it alongside our Privacy Policy, which identifies the operator and explains personal-data processing and rights.
[INSERT effective date and confirm that the completed Privacy Policy identifies the legal operator.]
02. Cookies and similar technologies
Cookies are small files stored in your browser. Local storage and session storage can also remember information on your device. Pixels and tags can send information about a page visit or interaction to a provider, sometimes without setting a cookie.
First-party cookies are associated with the website you visit; third-party cookies are associated with other domains. Session cookies generally last for a browsing session, while persistent cookies remain for a specified period or until removed. A cookie’s lifetime is not necessarily the same as the provider’s retention period for data already collected.
03. The purposes involved
| Category | Purpose | Consent approach |
|---|---|---|
| Strictly necessary | Functions essential to a requested service, security or remembering a consent choice. | No optional opt-in where a legal exemption genuinely applies. A theme or plugin cookie is not automatically essential. |
| Preferences | Remember optional interface choices or preferences. | Consent unless a specific exemption applies to the requested function. |
| Analytics | Use Google Analytics to understand visits and engagement. | Optional; enabled after analytics consent under the intended setup. |
| Advertising and measurement | AdSense advertising and Meta Pixel advertising measurement, audience activity and personalisation. | Optional tracking requires the relevant consent. Advertising modes and vendors must match the consent interface. |
04. Services used on this website
Google Analytics
Analytics technologies help measure website activity. For example, Google documents the _ga cookie as a way to distinguish visitors, with a default lifetime of two years. Actual names and lifetimes depend on the implementation and settings; this example is not confirmation that a specific cookie has been observed on this website.
Provider information: Google’s cookie information.
Google AdSense
Google and participating advertising partners may use identifiers and similar technologies to deliver and measure ads, manage frequency, prevent abuse and personalise advertising with the necessary permission. The vendor list and ad modes depend on this website’s AdSense configuration. Non-personalised ads may still involve cookies or personal data.
Provider information: Google’s advertising information.
Meta Pixel
Meta Pixel sends information about configured website events to Meta for advertising measurement and audience-related purposes. Data transmission can occur through a pixel request, not only through a cookie. The installed Pixel must therefore be controlled as well as its cookies.
Provider information: Meta’s Cookies Policy.
WoodMart and WordPress
WoodMart features may use cookies, local storage or session storage to remember notice acknowledgements and interface choices. WordPress and enabled plugins may also use browser storage for their active functions. Only features actually enabled and used belong in the website’s inventory.
Contact Form 7
The default Contact Form 7 plugin does not itself use cookies. Optional integrations, such as external anti-spam services, can introduce additional processing and must be checked separately. Our form submissions are delivered by email, as explained in the Privacy Policy.
05. Website cookie and storage inventory
The inventory should identify each cookie or storage item, the responsible provider and domain, its purpose, category, duration and the conditions under which it is activated.
[The final inventory must also identify the configured advertising vendors. Provider policy links above supplement, but do not replace, the website-specific inventory.]
06. Accepting, rejecting and changing choices
Intended consent setup: visitors can accept optional technologies, reject them or choose categories and providers through the consent interface. Non-essential analytics and advertising tags remain blocked until the relevant permission is given. Merely browsing, scrolling or closing a notice is not treated as consent.
You can revisit your choices and withdraw optional consent using the website’s cookie settings control. Withdrawal affects future processing based on consent; it does not retrospectively invalidate processing that occurred before withdrawal. A record of your choice may be retained where necessary to respect and demonstrate it.
[IMPLEMENT and test the persistent “Cookie settings” control, then replace this note with its exact location or the consent platform’s working shortcode/link. No dummy button has been included. Remove the phrase “Intended consent setup” only after the behaviour has been verified.]
[This draft assumes basic blocking of optional tags before consent. If advanced Google Consent Mode or another configuration sends data before consent, describe that processing accurately and obtain appropriate legal review instead of promising that all optional tracking is blocked.]
07. Browser and provider controls
Your browser allows you to review or delete stored cookies and may offer controls for third-party storage. Deleting cookies may also remove your saved choice, so the consent interface may appear again. Blocking essential storage can affect requested website functions.
Browser controls are additional tools, not a substitute for our consent interface. Removing a cookie does not necessarily stop a tag from sending new events or delete data already held by a provider.
For Google account-level advertising preferences, see My Ad Center. Meta’s Privacy Policy explains available account and advertising controls.
08. Updates and contact
We may update this policy as technologies, providers or settings change. The published effective date and inventory should reflect those changes.
For questions about cookies or personal information, email contact@thegowndirectory.com.