Your information is handled by our Privacy Policy, which outlines our standards for the collection, processing, and storage. This policy explains how we, our partners, and the users of our services use cookies, as well as your options for controlling them.
As soon as you visit a website, a little text file called a “cookie” is stored on your computer or another device. “Session cookies” and “persistent cookies” are frequently used to “remember” you and your preferences, either for a single visit or for several repeat visits. Essential operations like registration and login are carried out by these systems to provide a consistent and efficient user experience. First-party and third-party cookies can be set on a website you are visiting, as well as those that deliver content or provide advertising or analytics services on the website. “Web beacons” and “pixels” may also be used in HTML emails, as well as on websites. Cookies are similar in that they are little, transparent images that are used to collect information for us. It is common to utilize them in conjunction with cookies, even though they aren’t kept on your computer in the same manner. Web beacons may still load if cookies are disabled, but their functionality may be hampered.
Cookies serve a variety of functions for us. For technical reasons, certain cookies are required; others allow visitors and registered users alike to have a tailored experience, and still, others allow for the display of advertisements from specified third-party networks. As soon as the page loads, some of these cookies may be set, such as by clicking on the “like” or ‘follow’ buttons, on a post, for example. You don’t have to log in every time to get many of the cookies we employ, but others are set every time you visit one of our websites, regardless of whether or not you have an account. Please check the Controlling Cookies section below for additional information on your options when it comes to cookies.
Where do we place cookies?
We set cookies in several different locations across our services. These include:
On our websites (including automattic.com, wordpress.com, vip.wordpress.com, jetpack.com, gravatar.com, intensedebate.com, vaultpress.com, and akismet.com).
In the administrative dashboards of our websites, such as Calypso and wp-admin.
On sites, we host for our users.
On sites that use our plugins (e.g. Jetpack)
The types of cookies table below explain the types of cookies we use on our websites and why we use them.
| Category of cookies |
Why we use these cookies |
| Strictly Necessary |
These cookies are essential for websites on our services to perform their basic functions. These include those required to allow registered users to authenticate and perform account-related functions, as well as to save the contents of virtual “carts” on sites that have an eCommerce functionality. |
| Functionality |
These cookies are used to store preferences set by users such as account name, language, and location. |
| Security |
We use these cookies to help identify and prevent potential security risks. |
| Analytics and Performance |
Performance cookies collect information on how users interact with our websites, including what pages are visited most, as well as other analytical data. We use these details to improve how our websites function and to understand how users interact with them. |
| Advertising |
These cookies are used to display relevant advertising to visitors who use our services or visit websites we host or provide, as well as to understand and report on the efficacy of ads served on our websites. They track details such as the number of unique visitors, the number of times particular ads have been displayed, and the number of clicks the ads have received. They are also used to build user profiles, including showing you ads based on products you’ve viewed or acts you have taken on our (and other) websites. These are set by Automattic and trusted third-party networks, and are generally persistent. |
| Third Party / Embedded Content |
Sites hosted on WordPress.com make use of different third-party applications and services to enhance the experience of website visitors. These include social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter (through the use of sharing buttons), or embedded content from Youtube and Vimeo. As a result, cookies may be set by these third parties and used by them to track your online activity. We have no direct control over the information that is collected by these cookies. |
User Sites
We use cookies for our Site Stats feature in addition to the ones we place on our sites. Counts both the total number of unique visitors and the number of visits from various geographical areas. When we see a user or browser for the first time in a certain timeframe, we count that person as a visitor.
Examples of the cookies and an explanation of their purpose can be found in the sections below. The majority of these cookies are set across our whole network, although a few are particular to individual services (e.g. WordPress.com, Longreads, etc). Although this is not an entire list, it is meant to be illustrative of the many options that exist. This section contains information about third-party cookies, such as those placed by our advertising partners. Customers that publish or host their websites through our services may also place additional cookies. In the sections that follow, you’ll find more information about these particular cookies.
Advertising
| Cookie |
Purpose |
| ads |
Tracks if a visitor has clicked an ad before. |
| lr_nw |
Counts and tracks pageviews on Longreads.com. Used to determine whether or not to show our Membership popup message. |
| wordpress_eli |
Reduces the display of ads for repeat visitors. |
Please also see the section below on third-party advertisements that you may see on our sites or sites that use our services.
| Cookie |
Purpose |
| __pdvt |
Used in the log of Polldaddy survey data to aid in debugging customer problems |
| ab |
Used for “AB testing” of new features. |
| nux_flow_name |
Identifies which user signup flow was shown to the user. |
| tk_ni / tk_ai / tk_qs |
Gathers information for our own, first-party analytics tool about how our services are used. A collection of internal metrics for user activity is used to improve user experience. |
| wp-affiliate-tracker |
Remembers the ID of the affiliate that referred the current user to WordPress.com |
| utma / utmb / utmc / utmt / utmz / ga / gat / gid |
Google Analytics. Gathers information that helps us understand how visitors interact with our websites, which allows us to create a better experience for our visitors. Our users may also implement Google Analytics on their websites. |
Functionality
| Cookie |
Purpose |
| _longreads_prod_new |
Authentication for Longreads.com Member accounts. Only active when logged in, on *.longreads.com domains. |
| akm_mobile |
Stores whether a user has chosen to view the mobile version of a website. |
| bottling |
Used to track the language a user has selected to view popular blogs in. |
| landingpage_currency |
Defines the currency displayed on WordPress.com landing pages. |
| pd_dashboard |
Records last used folder in Polldaddy dashboard so it can be reopened upon user’s next visit. |
| PD_USER_AUTH |
Login cookie used to identify Polldaddy user. |
| wordpress_logged_in* |
Checks whether or not the current visitor is a logged-in WordPress.com user. |
| wp-settings-{user_id} |
Persists a user’s wp-admin configuration. |
| wp_sharing_{id} |
Tracks whether or not a user has already acted. |
Security
| Cookie |
Purpose |
| csrftoken |
Python/Ajax security cookie used on accounts.longreads.com. |
Strictly Necessary
| Cookie |
Purpose |
| country_code |
Used to determine whether or not the cookie banner should be shown. Set immediately on page load and retained for 6 hours to remember the visitor’s country. |
| sensitive_pixel_option |
Remembers the state of visitor acceptance to the cookie banner. Only set when the visitor clicks Accept. |
| twostep_auth |
Set when the user is logged in using two-factor authentication. |
| wordpress_test_cookie |
Checks if cookies are enabled to provide an appropriate user experience. |
Advertisements from Third Parties Through Automattic’s Ads Program
Our goal is to make publishing accessible to everyone. Some of our users’ websites feature advertisements as a way for us to continue providing WordPress.com as a free tool for website creation. Ads can also be placed on a user’s website through our advertising program. In addition, several of our websites display adverts from our advertising program (e.g. longreads.com).
To run our advertising program, we have to rely on the help of outside merchants. Cookies are used to collect data as part of our advertising program. Ad serving and personalization are made possible by advertising cookies, which we use in conjunction with third-party partners.
Each of our advertising partners sets cookies, and we’ve included a list of those partners’ names and the cookies they set for your convenience. This is not an all-inclusive list of the partners we have worked with in the past. Our ad-related cookies can be controlled in the following sections.
Visitors to Sites with Jetpack installed below are examples of the cookies set for visitors to sites with the Jetpack plugin installed. For more details on the cookies set for administrators, please see https://jetpack.com/support/cookies/.
Mobile Theme
| Cookie Name |
Purpose |
| akm_mobile |
Remembers whether or not a user wishes to view the mobile version of a site. |
Subscriptions
| Cookie Name |
Purpose |
| jetpack_comments_subscribe_{HASH} |
Remembers the state of the post and comment subscription checkboxes. |
| jetpack_blog_subscribe_{HASH} |
Remembers the state of the post and comment subscription checkboxes. |
EU Cookie Law Banner
| Cookie Name |
Purpose |
| EU cookie law |
Remembers the state of visitor acceptance to the EU Cookie Law banner. |
Please note that this section is not intended to be exhaustive, but rather aims to be representative and that our users may set additional cookies (such as Google Analytics), depending on the features they have chosen to enable or the plugins they have installed.
Cookies can be restricted or prevented entirely depending on the preferences of the site visitor. Cookies can be controlled by built-in browser capabilities or third-party plugins, depending on the browser you use. Please be aware that some aspects of our service may not work properly if you choose to disable cookies. Visit aboutcookies.org for more information on how to delete and manage cookies. Visit youronlinechoices.EU (EU based) or optout.aboutads.info (non-EU based) for additional information on your choices regarding interest-based advertising (US-based). A mobile device’s settings may also allow you to restrict ad tracking. Installing Google’s opt-out browser add-on will allow you to block Google Analytics from tracking your browsing habits.
Certain user behaviors, including page views and clicks on any links that are used when managing a site via our dashboard, are tracked by us to better understand how our products are utilized. Each of these actions is referred to as an “event.” Automattic owns and manages a first-party system for handling analytics events associated with your WordPress.com account. For each occurrence, we typically keep track of the following information: WordPress.com user and username, WordPress.com-connected site ID (for sites not hosted on WordPress.com), user agent, referring URL, the time stamp of event, browser language, and country code is included in the IP address. Please read our Privacy Policy for additional details on how we utilize your information. By changing your user preferences, you can decide whether or not to participate in our analytics program. Opting out of our analytics tool will prevent us from tracking your activity while signing in to your WordPress.com account following the opt-out. While opting out does not remove the ability to be tracked, it does mean that we will no longer have any data related to an event or activity you perform after opting out, such as publishing a post on your blog (don’t worry!).
Consent for Advertising Cookies on Our Sites
Our websites and dashboards may display a “cookie banner.” In the EU, we do not set or allow our ad partners to set cookies that are used to displayyouru targeted advertising before you click to accept on one of our user’s websites. We can set ad-targeting cookies on your browser, as well as on other of our websites, dashboards, and services. Just in case you change your mind, we’ll show you the banner now and again.
Consent and Choices for Advertisements on Our Users’ Sites Through Our Ads Program
If you’re in the European Union, you may notice a “cookie banner” on the websites of our users. So, if this is the case, our ad program does not establish or allow our ad partners to set, cookies that are used to display you tailored adverts before you accept the program. Third-party ad cookies may be placed on our network if you give us and our advertising partners your permission to do so. Just in case you change your mind, we’ll show you the banner now and again. * Please be aware that on May 22, 2019, this new consent function will go into effect. As part of our ad campaign, we establish a cookie to track how visitors interact with participating websites. Those who don’t want us to utilize their information can do so by clicking on this link (the opt-out will be processed immediately with no confirmation step). We add an opt-out value to the cookie’s unique value when you choose to opt-out. The opt-out works on all of our advertising sites. If you accidentally opted out, or if you want to re-enroll, you can do so by clicking this link. As a result, if you switch devices or browsers, or if your cookies are cleared, you’ll have to go through the process again.
