Introduction
This Cookie Policy explains how teresagraziano.com (“Website,” “we,” “us”) uses cookies and similar tracking technologies on our Website. It outlines what cookies are, which cookies we use and why, and how you can manage your preferences. We aim to provide this information in compliance with the EU ePrivacy Directive and GDPR, as well as other applicable laws, ensuring transparency about cookies to all international users. By using our Website, you can choose whether to allow non-essential cookies. This policy works in tandem with our Privacy Policy, which covers how we handle personal data.
What Are Cookies?
Cookies are small text files that are placed on your computer or device when you visit a website. These files store small pieces of information that a website can read or write when you return to help it remember things about your visit. In practice, cookies serve a variety of purposes, like remembering your login status, storing site preferences, and collecting analytics data. A cookie typically contains the name of the website (domain) that set it, a value (usually a random unique number or string), and an expiration time (after which it is automatically deleted by your browser). Cookies can be first-party (set by the site you’re visiting) or third-party (set by a different domain, often in cases of embedded content or advertising). Cookies themselves do not run programs or infect your device with malware; they are more like passive tools storing information. However, they can collect data that may be considered personal (like an IP address or a unique identifier tied to your device/browser). For this reason, it’s important to inform users about cookies and, where required by law, obtain consent for their use.
In addition to cookies, our Website may use similar technologies such as local storage or pixels. For simplicity, this policy refers to all of these as “cookies.” We provide detail on the specific cookies and their functions below.
Why We Use Cookies
We use cookies for several reasons: some are necessary for technical or security reasons, and others enable us to provide a better user experience by remembering your preferences, while yet others help us analyze usage of our Website. Specifically:
- Essential Cookies: These cookies are necessary for the Website to function correctly and securely. Without them, certain features (like submitting forms or remembering cookie preferences) may not work. We use essential cookies primarily to remember your cookie consent choices and to support basic site functionality. For example, if our site displays a cookie consent banner, once you make a choice, an essential cookie will remember your selection (consent or refusal) so that the banner can respect your preferences and not keep reappearing on every page load. Such cookies do not gather information for marketing or analytics purposes; they are only used to maintain the core aspects of the service you requested. Because they are strictly necessary, these cookies are used by default; however, they are designed to have minimal privacy impact (they typically do not store personally identifying information).
- Analytics Cookies: These cookies help us understand how visitors engage with our Website. We use Google Analytics, a web analytics service, to collect anonymized information about usage. Analytics cookies allow us to count visits, see traffic sources, and understand what pages or content are popular. This data is valuable for improving the site – for example, knowing which pages are frequently visited can guide our content strategy. The information collected via analytics cookies is aggregated and does not directly identify individual visitors. For instance, Google Analytics provides us with statistical data like “100 people visited this page today” or “X% of users are from country Y,” but not personal details like someone’s name. Importantly, we do not run analytics cookies unless you have given consent (see Cookie Consent below). When enabled, Google Analytics may process data including truncated IP addresses, device information, and browsing actions on our site. We have configured Google Analytics with privacy measures such as IP anonymization, meaning Google truncates/anonymizes the last octet of your IP address within the EU prior to storing it, which adds a layer of privacy. Analytics cookies and their specific details are described in the next section.
- Functional Cookies: At this time, our Website does not use any additional functionality cookies beyond the essential and analytics categories mentioned. Functional cookies would be those that remember choices you make (like language selection or other preferences) to provide a more personalized experience. If we introduce any such cookies in the future, we will update this policy accordingly.
- Advertising/Marketing Cookies: We do not use advertising cookies or third-party ad networks on our Website. We do not display third-party ads that track users. Therefore, you should not receive any cookies intended for advertising or targeting purposes from teresagraziano.com. If this changes in the future, we will update our practices and obtain necessary consents.
Cookies We Use
Below is a list of the cookies in use on our Website, categorized by their purpose, along with details such as their name, provider, purpose, and lifespan:
Essential Cookies:
– Consent Preference Cookie (e.g., cookieConsent or similar): This first-party cookie remembers your cookie preferences (such as whether you accepted or declined analytics cookies). It ensures that once you’ve made a choice on the cookie banner, the site remembers it for your future visits, so you are not repeatedly asked for consent. It typically stores a simple value like “true/false” or a string indicating your choices. This cookie is necessary for compliance and user convenience. Duration: around 1 year (so that your preference is remembered for subsequent visits up to a year, unless you clear cookies earlier). Provider: teresagraziano.com (our site). Personal Data: This cookie does not store personal data beyond your consent choice; it does not track your activity.
Analytics Cookies (Google Analytics):
When allowed by the user, Google Analytics sets the following first-party cookies on our domain:
- _ga – This cookie is used by Google Analytics to distinguish unique visitors by assigning a random unique ID. It helps count how many people visit the site. Duration: 2 years.
- from the time it is set or updated. It persists between sessions, so if you return to the site within that timeframe, you will have the same ID. Provider: Google (first-party on our domain). Data: Tracks aggregated statistics like number of visits, and timestamps. (No personally identifiable info is in the cookie itself, just the unique ID.)
- _gid – This cookie is also set by Google Analytics and is used to distinguish users, but it has a shorter lifespan. It basically provides a daily unique ID to group all activity for a single day for each user. Duration: 24 hours. Provider: Google. Purpose: It counts and tracks pageviews within that day, helping us understand daily site usage.
- _gat (or sometimes displayed as _gat_gtag_[Property-ID]) – This cookie is used by Google to throttle the request rate to their servers. In other words, if a user quickly views many pages, this cookie helps ensure the analytics requests don’t overwhelm the server by limiting how often they occur. Duration: 1 minute. Provider: Google. Purpose: Performance optimization for analytics. It does not store user data, but it may use the presence of this cookie to block some analytics calls.
(Note: If we migrate to Google Analytics 4 (GA4), the cookie names might include _ga plus an identifier (like _ga_XXXX); however, their purposes and durations are similar – GA4’s cookies also last about 2 years for the unique ID. We will update this list if any changes occur in cookie names or usage.)
All Google Analytics cookies are used only if you consent. They collect information such as truncated IP address, device/browser information, and site usage patterns. We have configured Google Analytics not to share data with other Google services and not to use it for advertising features. Google acts as our analytics provider, and while these cookies are first-party, the data collected is sent to Google’s servers for processing and reporting to us. For more details on how Google Analytics works and Google’s privacy practices, you can refer to Google’s documentation and Google’s Privacy Policy.
Apart from the cookies listed above, our site may include content or scripts from third-party platforms (for example, a Google Maps embed, a YouTube video, or social media share buttons) that could set cookies. We currently do not have such embeds on our site. If we do add third-party content that may set cookies, we will update our Cookie Policy and make sure to request consent for those as needed. For completeness, if you navigate to external links from our site, those websites will have their own cookie and privacy policies.
Cookie Consent and Control
When you first visit our Website (or if you return after clearing cookies), you will see a cookie consent banner or pop-up. This banner lets you know that we use cookies and asks for your consent to set certain cookies (specifically, analytics cookies which are not strictly necessary). You will typically have the option to “Accept” or “Reject” non-essential cookies (and in some cases, a “Preferences” option to fine-tune which categories of cookies you allow). We do not set analytics cookies until you explicitly opt-in by giving consent. If you choose “Reject” or decline to make a choice, we will assume no consent for analytics and will not load those cookies. Essential cookies (like the one remembering your choice) will be set regardless, as they are needed for the site to function and to honor your decision.
Implied Consent: We do not use implied consent (such as “by continuing to use the site, you accept cookies”) as a sole method. We rely on an explicit opt-in. If you ignore the banner and continue browsing without clicking accept, we will treat that as a “no consent” for analytics (the banner may remain present to remind you or might assume no until you decide). You can always change your mind later.
Managing Preferences: If you have already given consent but later change your mind, you have a few options to withdraw or modify your consent:
- Cookie Banner Settings: If our Website provides a “Cookie Settings” link or a mechanism to bring back the consent banner, you can use that to review or change your preferences at any time. (Look for a “Privacy Settings” or “Cookies” link in our footer or header; if available, clicking it will allow you to toggle analytics cookies on or off.)
- Browser Settings: You can control cookies through your web browser settings. Most browsers allow you to view cookies stored, delete them, and set rules to block cookies from certain sites or all sites. For example, you can typically remove all cookies after you finish browsing, or configure your browser to refuse third-party cookies or even all cookies. However, note that blocking all cookies might affect functionality of many websites (including ours). Each browser has different steps for this – consult your browser’s help documentation for instructions on managing cookies.
- Opt-Out Mechanisms: For Google Analytics specifically, Google provides a Browser Opt-Out Add-on that you can install. This add-on prevents Google Analytics JavaScript from running and therefore blocks GA from collecting data on any site you visit, including ours. You can find this tool on Google’s site (the “Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on”). Using this ensures that even if a site doesn’t offer a perfect consent mechanism, your data won’t be sent to Google Analytics. Additionally, if our site were to use advertising cookies (which it currently does not), industry opt-out pages (like aboutads.info or youronlinechoices.eu) could be relevant; but for now, that’s not applicable here.
- Do Not Track: Our Website currently does not respond to “Do Not Track” (DNT) signals from browsers in a uniform way. Given that we only set analytics with consent, the presence of DNT should have no additional effect (if you enable DNT and do not consent to cookies, you will already be opted out; if you consent, we assume you intended to allow analytics despite DNT). We will monitor regulatory guidance on DNT and adjust if required.
Please be aware that if you disable cookies entirely, certain features of our site (and others) may not work properly. For example, if you block the essential preference cookie, the cookie banner will keep appearing, or your settings might not be saved. If you block session cookies, functions like form submissions might fail. We will do our best to maintain core functionality for users who decline cookies, but the user experience may be somewhat limited.
Also, if you clear your cookies at any time, that will remove the cookie that stored your preferences – meaning on your next visit our site will treat you as a new user and show the consent banner again for you to reconfirm your choices.
Third-Party Access to Cookies
The cookies set on our Website are either directly managed by us (first-party cookies) or by our service partners (Google in the case of analytics). We do not allow arbitrary third parties to place cookies on our site for advertising or tracking. Here’s who has access to the cookie-related information:
- Teresa Graziano (Website Operator): We have access to data collected via first-party cookies, especially the essential cookies and aggregated analytics reports. For instance, we can read the consent cookie to know your preferences, and we see the analytics data that Google provides in our account dashboard (which includes information derived from the _ga, _gid cookies, etc., in aggregate form). We treat all such information as confidential and use it only for the purposes stated.
- Google Analytics (Google LLC / Google Ireland Ltd): If you consent to analytics cookies, the data collected by those cookies (like your truncated IP and user ID stored in _ga) is transmitted to Google. Google acts as our data processor for analytics, meaning they process the information on our behalf to generate reports. Google may also use some data for its own purposes as outlined in its privacy policy, but under the Google Analytics terms, they are not supposed to share that data or use it to identify you personally. Google does have access to the data on their servers, so in theory Google’s technical teams could see it, but this data is protected by encryption and Google’s privacy commitments. We have accepted the Google Analytics data processing terms which include safeguards in line with GDPR (including Standard Contractual Clauses for data transfer to the U.S.). We have also set settings to not share data with other Google products. You can review Google’s Privacy & Terms page[25] for more info on how they handle data. In summary, Google does not get your name or contact info from these cookies, but they do get online identifiers and usage info which they aggregate for us.
Other than Google Analytics, our only other third-party involvement with cookies might be our hosting provider (which could technically see the cookies stored on requests to our server, but they have no reason to access or use them), or any security service scanning cookies. We do not use social media plugins that share data, nor advertising networks. If that ever changes, we will update this section.
We ensure that any third party with access to cookie data (like Google) is contractually bound to handle it in accordance with applicable privacy laws and only for the limited purpose we’ve defined. Google’s analytics data is subject to Google’s own security measures and policies as well.
International Data Transfers (Cookies)
The use of cookies may result in transfer of certain data across international borders. Specifically, information from our site (like analytics data) may be sent to servers located in other countries (e.g., the United States) for processing. As mentioned, Google Analytics data is often processed on Google’s servers in the U.S. or Europe. We understand that there are legal considerations for transferring personal data from the EU to the U.S. Due to the nature of internet communications, even cookies set in the EU might be accessed by Google in the U.S.
To address this, we have taken steps such as enabling IP anonymization and agreeing to Standard Contractual Clauses with Google[8]. Google has also reportedly adhered to the new EU-US Data Privacy Framework for transfers. We want to assure you that when such transfers occur, we strive to protect your data by legal mechanisms and encryption. However, if you prefer not to have any data transferred outside your country, the safest option is to decline analytics cookies, which will keep your data local to your device (only the essential cookies, which pose minimal risk and no personal data, will be used).
Impact of Cookies on Privacy
We believe in being frank about how cookies affect your privacy. The cookies we use are intended to improve your experience and our service, not to infringe on your privacy. Analytics cookies do track your interactions on our site, but this is done in a pseudonymized manner for statistical purposes. We do not combine cookie data with other information to identify you or build a profile of you. We do not engage in behavioral advertising or share your browsing habits with advertisers.
Nevertheless, we recognize that any online tracking can be concerning to some users. That’s why we make analytics optional and fully explain their use. If you opt out of analytics cookies, you will still have access to our full site; none of our content is gated behind cookie consent. The only difference is that your visit won’t be counted in our stats, and we won’t be able to see how you navigated the site, which is fine – user choice comes first.
Changes to this Cookie Policy
We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time (for example, if we start using new cookies, or if laws/regulations change). We will update the “Last Updated” date at the bottom of this policy when we make changes. If changes are significant (e.g., adding new cookie categories), we may also inform you via a notice on our Website or by prompting the consent banner again. We encourage you to review this policy periodically for any updates.
By continuing to use our Website with cookies enabled (after having been presented with the banner and given consent), you agree to the use of cookies as described in this policy. If you have any questions about our use of cookies or how we handle your data, please contact us at privacy@teresagraziano.com.
Last Updated: (03/08/2025)