Cookies, in plain English.
Every cookie we set, why it's there, who set it, and how long it stays. Decline analytics + marketing anytime.
● Last updated 6 May 2026What's a cookie?
A cookie is a small text file a website asks your browser to store. Cookies let sites remember things — like that you're logged in, what's in your cart, or which language you prefer. We also count similar tech (localStorage, sessionStorage, web beacons) under "cookies" for this policy.
The four categories
We group every cookie into one of four buckets:
- Essential — required for the site to work (login, security, payments). No consent needed.
- Analytics — measure traffic + tool usage anonymously. Opt-in.
- Marketing — newsletter open + click attribution. Opt-in.
- Preferences — remember your UI choices. Opt-in.
Full inventory
Essential cookies
Strictly necessary — the site cannot function without them. No consent required under GDPR.
| Name | Set by | Purpose | Lifetime |
|---|---|---|---|
| wordpress_logged_in_* | WordPress core | Keeps you signed in to your account. | Session / 14 days with "remember me" |
| wordpress_sec_* | WordPress core | Validates the authenticated session for admin pages. | Session |
| wp-settings-* | WordPress core | Persists admin UI preferences. | 1 year |
| pmpro_visit | Paid Memberships Pro | Tracks the active visitor session for membership gates. | Session |
| __cf_bm | Cloudflare | Bot management — tells humans from automated traffic. | 30 minutes |
| cf_clearance | Cloudflare | Confirms the visitor passed bot/security challenges. | 30 days |
| __stripe_mid / __stripe_sid | Stripe | Fraud prevention during checkout. | 1 year / 30 minutes |
| wpistic_consent | WordPressistic | Stores your cookie banner choice. | 6 months |
Analytics cookies
Help us understand which pages and tools are useful. Set only after you accept analytics cookies in the banner.
| Name | Set by | Purpose | Lifetime |
|---|---|---|---|
| _ga | Google Analytics 4 | Distinguishes unique users (anonymized). | 13 months |
| _ga_<ID> | Google Analytics 4 | Persists session state for the GA4 property. | 13 months |
| _gid | Google Analytics 4 | Distinguishes unique users for 24 hours. | 24 hours |
Marketing cookies
Connect newsletter activity (open / click) so we can send better content. Set only after you accept marketing cookies.
| Name | Set by | Purpose | Lifetime |
|---|---|---|---|
| mailpoet_subscriber | MailPoet | Identifies you when you click a newsletter link. | 1 year |
| mailpoet_session | MailPoet | Tracks session state during signup forms. | Session |
Preferences cookies
Remember small choices like dark/light variant, dismissed banners, or saved filter state in the Member Portal.
| Name | Set by | Purpose | Lifetime |
|---|---|---|---|
| wpistic_theme_pref | WordPressistic | Stores your dark/light theme choice (we ship dark-only by default — reserved). | 1 year |
| wpistic_portal_filter | WordPressistic | Remembers your last filter on /portal/saved-reports/. | 6 months |
How to opt out
You have three ways to control cookies:
- Our cookie banner — appears on your first visit. Re-open it anytime by clicking Cookie preferences (link active once the banner script is enabled).
- Your browser — block or delete cookies in browser settings. Note: blocking essential cookies will break login + checkout.
- Google Analytics opt-out — install the official GA opt-out browser add-on.
Third-party cookies
When you embed YouTube videos, view a Stripe checkout, or click a tracked newsletter link, cookies are set by those third parties under their own policies:
- Stripe — stripe.com/cookie-settings
- Cloudflare — cloudflare.com/cookie-policy
- Google (GA4 + YouTube embeds) — policies.google.com/technologies/cookies
- MailPoet — mailpoet.com/privacy-notice
Changes to this policy
We update the table above whenever a cookie is added, removed, or changes purpose. Material changes get an email to subscribers + 14 days' notice before the new policy takes effect.
Questions?
Email [email protected] or visit /contact/.