1. What Are Cookies?
Cookies are small text files that are placed on your device (computer, tablet, or mobile phone) when you visit a website. They are widely used to make websites work efficiently, remember your preferences, and provide information to website owners.
Cookies can be first-party (set by us) or third-party (set by external services on our pages). They can be session cookies (deleted when you close your browser) or persistent cookies (stored for a defined period).
2. How We Obtain Consent
When you first visit PolishMom.com, a Cookie Consent Banner is displayed. Non-essential cookies (analytics, advertising) are only placed after you give explicit consent by clicking “Accept” or making specific choices. You can change your consent choices at any time using the “Cookie Settings” link in the footer.
This approach complies with:
- GDPR Art. 6(1)(a) and Recital 32 — consent must be freely given, specific, informed, and unambiguous
- Polish Telecommunications Act (Ustawa Prawo telekomunikacyjne), Art. 173
- EU ePrivacy Directive (2002/58/EC as amended)
- Google’s EU User Consent Policy (required for AdSense)
- IAB Europe TCF v2.2 (if using a certified CMP)
3. Categories of Cookies We Use
3.1 Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are essential for the website to function. They cannot be switched off. No consent is required for these.
| Cookie | Provider | Duration | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| cookieconsent_status | PolishMom.com | 1 year | Stores your cookie consent decision |
| PHPSESSID / wordpress_* | PolishMom.com | Session | WordPress session management |
| wp-settings-* | PolishMom.com | 1 year | WordPress user settings (admin only) |
3.2 Analytics Cookies (Consent Required)
These cookies help us understand how visitors interact with our website. All analytics data is aggregated and anonymized.
| Cookie | Provider | Duration | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| _ga | Google Analytics | 2 years | Distinguishes unique users |
| _ga_XXXXXXXXXX | Google Analytics 4 | 2 years | GA4 session persistence |
| _gid | Google Analytics | 24 hours | Distinguishes users within sessions |
| _gat_gtag_* | Google Analytics | 1 minute | Throttles request rate (performance) |
We have activated IP anonymization in Google Analytics. This means the last octet of your IP address is masked before any data is stored.
3.3 Advertising Cookies (Consent Required)
We work with Google AdSense to display advertisements. These cookies are used to make advertising more relevant to you.
| Cookie | Provider | Duration | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| IDE | Google DoubleClick | 2 years | Ad personalization and frequency capping |
| NID | 6 months | Ad preferences and personalization | |
| DSID | 2 weeks | Identify signed-in Google users for ads | |
| test_cookie | 15 minutes | Check if browser supports cookies | |
| __gads / __gpi | Google AdSense | 2 years | Ad measurement and fraud prevention |
If you do not consent to advertising cookies, you will see non-personalized ads instead.
3.4 Functional / Preference Cookies (Consent Required)
| Cookie | Provider | Duration | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| comment_author_* | PolishMom.com (WordPress) | 1 year | Remembers your name/email for future comments |
| comment_author_email_* | PolishMom.com (WordPress) | 1 year | Remembers your email for future comments |
4. Third-Party Cookies from Embedded Content
Some pages include embedded content (e.g., YouTube videos, Pinterest pins, social sharing buttons). When you interact with this content, those third parties may set their own cookies. We have no control over these cookies. Please refer to the respective privacy policies:
- YouTube / Google: policies.google.com/privacy
- Pinterest: policy.pinterest.com
- Facebook: facebook.com/policy.php
5. Managing Your Cookie Preferences
You have several options to manage cookies:
- Cookie Consent Banner — Manage preferences on first visit or via the “Cookie Settings” button below
- Browser settings — Most browsers allow you to refuse or delete cookies. This may affect site functionality
- Google Analytics opt-out — Install the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on
- Google Ad settings — Manage ad personalization at adssettings.google.com
- Your Online Choices — Opt out of many advertising networks at youronlinechoices.eu
6. Withdrawing Consent
You can withdraw your consent to non-essential cookies at any time by clicking “Cookie Settings” in the website footer and changing your preferences. Withdrawal of consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.
7. Updates to This Cookie Policy
We may update this Cookie Policy when we add new services or when legal requirements change. The “Last updated” date at the top reflects the latest version.
8. Contact
For questions about our use of cookies:
📧 [email protected]