This policy explains what cookies and similar technologies are used on ecomtoolshed.com, what each one does, how long it lasts, and how you can control it.
Last updated: September 21, 2026
What cookies are
A cookie is a small text file a website stores on your device. It lets the site recognise your browser on a later request. Related technologies — local storage, session storage, and pixels — do similar things, and this policy covers them too.
Cookies fall into broad groups:
- Strictly necessary — required for the site to work. Without them, features like logging in or submitting a form fail.
- Functional — remember choices you made, such as a display preference.
- Analytics — measure how the site is used, usually in aggregate.
- Advertising and tracking — build a profile of your interests, often across multiple sites.
What ecomtoolshed uses
Strictly necessary and functional cookies only
As of the date of this policy, ecomtoolshed serves no advertising cookies, no analytics cookies, and no cross-site tracking pixels. The only cookies set by this site are the ones WordPress needs to operate. A later section explains exactly what would change, and what we would do first, if we ever introduce third-party advertising.
| Cookie | Set by | Purpose | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
wordpress_test_cookie |
ecomtoolshed (WordPress) | Checks whether your browser accepts cookies, so form submission does not fail silently | Session |
wordpress_sec_[hash] |
ecomtoolshed (WordPress) | Authentication for logged-in users. Visitors who are not logged in do not receive this | Session |
wp-settings-[uid] |
ecomtoolshed (WordPress) | Stores admin interface preferences for logged-in users | 1 year |
wp-settings-time-[uid] |
ecomtoolshed (WordPress) | Records when the above preference cookie was set | 1 year |
comment_author_[hash], comment_author_email_[hash], comment_author_url_[hash] |
ecomtoolshed (WordPress) | If you post a comment, remembers your name, email, and website so you do not retype them | 1 year |
PHPSESSID |
ecomtoolshed (hosting) | Maintains a session so the server can follow a single visit | Session |
If you never log in and never comment, in practice the only cookie you will receive is the session cookie and the WordPress test cookie. Neither identifies you.
Cookies set by third parties after you click an outbound link
This site is funded by affiliate commissions. When you click a link to a vendor — a storefront platform, an email marketing tool, a funnel builder — that vendor or its affiliate network may set its own cookies or identifiers on your device. These are third-party cookies. They are outside our control, they are governed by the vendor’s own cookie and privacy policies, and we cannot read them.
Their purpose is attribution: to record that a visit originated from ecomtoolshed so that, if you sign up or buy, the vendor can credit a commission to us. This does not change the price you pay, and it does not give us access to your account. A typical affiliate attribution cookie lasts between 30 days and, for some programs, the life of the customer relationship — several vendors in this category use “lifetime” attribution, which is disclosed in our Affiliate Disclosure. Some vendors also use their own first-party analytics cookies once you are on their site.
Because these cookies are set by the destination site rather than by us, the moment they appear is the moment you leave ecomtoolshed. You can avoid them entirely by not clicking affiliate links, by opening vendor links in a private window, or by blocking third-party cookies in your browser.
Cookies not currently in use
For transparency, these are absent from the site as of the date above:
- no Google Analytics or Google Tag Manager;
- no advertising or remarketing pixels;
- no social media tracking pixels;
- no session recording or heatmap tools;
- no cross-site identity resolution of any kind.
If we add any of the above, we will update this page and our Privacy Policy before the change goes live, and we will ask for consent where the law requires it.
If we introduce third-party advertising
Advertising is a possible future funding route for this site, alongside affiliate commissions. It is not in place today, and no advertising cookie is set. If we introduce an advertising network, all four of the following will be completed before the first ad is served:
- Every advertising and analytics cookie will be added to the table above, naming its vendor, purpose, and duration.
- A consent banner will be shown to readers in the EEA, the UK, and Switzerland, and no non-essential cookie will be set before consent is given.
- A working “Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information” opt-out will be published, and Global Privacy Control signals will be honoured as binding opt-outs.
- The disclosures each vendor requires will be published, including, where the vendor is Google, the statements Google requires about its use of advertising cookies and how readers can opt out of personalised advertising.
Until all four steps are complete, no advertising cookie will be set on this site.
How to control cookies
You can block, delete, or restrict cookies through your browser. Doing so will not break reading the site, but it may prevent you from commenting or logging in.
- Chrome — Settings, then Privacy and security, then Third-party cookies
- Safari — Settings, then Privacy, then Manage Website Data
- Firefox — Settings, then Privacy and Security, then Cookies and Site Data
- Edge — Settings, then Cookies and site permissions
Most browsers also offer a private or incognito mode that discards cookies at the end of the session. You can additionally set your browser to send a Global Privacy Control or Do Not Track signal; we honour Global Privacy Control as an opt-out request where it applies.
To opt out of interest-based advertising across participating companies, you can use the industry opt-out pages maintained by the Digital Advertising Alliance and the Network Advertising Initiative, and the European Interactive Digital Advertising Alliance in the EU.
Changes to this policy
We will update this page whenever the cookies we use change. The date at the top shows the current version.
Questions
Email contact@ecomtoolshed.com with any question about cookies on this site.