- Last updated: September 27, 2026
- Cookie check: September 2026
- Applies to droidcrunch.com
Cookies are small text files a website saves in your browser. DroidCrunch uses only a few. This page lists each one we found on the site, what it does, how long it lasts and how to turn it off.
The short version
- We don’t run advertising networks such as Google AdSense, so no ad-network cookies are set on our pages.
- Google Analytics sets two cookies that help us see which articles are genuinely useful.
- Our affiliate link tool sets cookies only when you click a
/go/or/recommend/link. - A few functional cookies remember small choices, like dark mode, likes and your comment details.
- YouTube and affiliate partners can set their own cookies, but only after you play a video or leave our site through a link.
- You can block or delete cookies in your browser at any time, and the site keeps working.
What cookies are
A cookie is a small text file that a website asks your browser to store. The next time you load a page, your browser sends it back. That’s how a site remembers things like a login or a display setting.
First-party cookies are set by droidcrunch.com itself. Third-party cookies are set by another company’s domain, such as google.com. Session cookies disappear when you close your browser, while persistent cookies stay until they expire or you delete them.
How we checked
This list isn’t copied from a template. On September 27, 2026, we loaded our home page, a typical article and the contact page in a fresh browser, scrolled and clicked like a normal reader, and recorded every cookie that appeared. Then we went through the plugins and scripts the site runs, to catch cookies that only show up in specific moments, such as leaving a comment or clicking an affiliate link.
Other companies can change their cookies without telling us. The third-party details below were accurate when we checked. Their own policies, linked on this page, always have the latest version.
Essential and security cookies
These keep the site secure and let our team sign in. Most readers never receive the WordPress and Wordfence cookies at all, because they’re only set for people who log in.
| Cookie | Set by | What it does | How long |
|---|---|---|---|
wordpress_test_cookie, wordpress_logged_in_…, wordpress_sec_… | DroidCrunch (WordPress) | Keeps team members signed in securely. Only set when someone logs in. | Session, or up to 14 days with “Remember me” |
wfwaf-authcookie-… | DroidCrunch (Wordfence firewall) | Lets our firewall recognise signed-in team members before WordPress loads. | 12 hours |
__cf_bm | Cloudflare | Helps tell people from bots when Cloudflare’s bot protection checks a request. | 30 minutes |
cf_clearance | Cloudflare | Only set if you complete a Cloudflare security check, so you aren’t asked again straight away. | As set in our security settings (30 minutes by default) |
_GRECAPTCHA | Google reCAPTCHA | Runs the spam check on our comment, login and contact forms. | 6 months |
Preference cookies
These remember small choices so you don’t have to make them again. None of them contain your name or email address, except the comment cookies, and those only exist if you ask for them.
| Cookie | Set by | What it does | How long |
|---|---|---|---|
darkmode | DroidCrunch (theme) | Remembers whether you switched to dark or light mode. | 30 days |
jnews_like_counter | DroidCrunch (theme) | Remembers which articles you liked, so the like button shows the right state. | 30 days |
comment_author_…, comment_author_email_…, comment_author_url_… | DroidCrunch (WordPress) | Saves your name, email and website for your next comment. Only set if you tick “Save my name, email, and website in this browser”. | About 1 year |
Analytics cookies
We use Google Analytics 4 to learn which articles people read, how they find us and where a page could be clearer. We look at aggregated reports. We don’t use Analytics to identify individual readers, and we haven’t connected it to Google’s advertising products.
| Cookie | Set by | What it does | How long |
|---|---|---|---|
_ga | Google Analytics | Assigns a random ID so visits can be counted as unique readers. | 2 years, though browsers may shorten it |
_ga_3BVNCL62W2 | Google Analytics | Keeps track of your current session for our Analytics property. | 2 years, though browsers may shorten it |
Browsers limit how long these can last: Chrome caps any cookie at 400 days, and Safari deletes cookies set by scripts after 7 days without a visit.
We also use Cloudflare Web Analytics, which counts page views and measures loading speed without setting any cookies. To opt out of Google Analytics on every website you visit, install Google’s official Analytics opt-out add-on.
Affiliate link cookies
Many of our reviews link to products through addresses like droidcrunch.com/go/tool-name. These short links are managed by Pretty Links, a plugin that runs on our own server. When you click one, it sets these cookies on droidcrunch.com before sending you on to the product’s website:
| Cookie | Set by | What it does | How long |
|---|---|---|---|
prli_visitor | DroidCrunch (Pretty Links) | A random visitor ID, so we can count how many different people click our links. | 1 year |
prli_click_… | DroidCrunch (Pretty Links) | Marks that you’ve already clicked a specific link, so repeat clicks aren’t counted as new ones. | 30 days |
prli_dedup_… | DroidCrunch (Pretty Links) | Stops an accidental double-click from being logged twice. | 10 seconds |
The click itself is logged too. Our Privacy Policy explains what that log contains and why we keep it.
Cookies set by other companies
DroidCrunch doesn’t set these, and they only appear in the situations described. Each company decides what it collects and how long it keeps it.
- YouTube (Google). Videos in our articles load as a plain thumbnail first. YouTube’s player, and cookies such as
YSCandVISITOR_INFO1_LIVE, load only when you press play. See how Google uses cookies. - Affiliate partners and networks. After you click through, the product’s website or its affiliate network, for example Impact, PartnerStack or Awin, usually sets a cookie on its own domain so your purchase is credited to us. These typically last 30 to 90 days, depending on the partner. Our Affiliate Disclosure explains the arrangement.
- MailerLite. Our newsletter signup form and occasional popup are loaded from MailerLite. In our check, it set no cookies when pages loaded. MailerLite’s cookie policy covers anything it stores when you use one of its forms.
- Google reCAPTCHA. Covered in the essential table above. Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply to it.
Other tracking technologies
- Email pixels. Our newsletter emails contain a tiny image and tracked links that show whether an email was opened and which links were clicked. Turning off automatic image loading in your email app blocks the pixel.
- Fonts and avatars. Some fonts load from Google Fonts, and author and commenter avatars load from Gravatar. Neither sets cookies on our pages, but your browser shares your IP address with Google or Automattic when it downloads them.
- Browser storage. In our check, the site didn’t store anything in your browser’s local storage or session storage when pages loaded.
- Server logs. Like every website, our servers and security tools record basic request details such as your IP address and browser type. The Privacy Policy covers these.
How to control cookies
You’re in control. Every modern browser lets you see, block and delete cookies:
Blocking cookies won’t break DroidCrunch. You can still read everything. You’ll only lose small conveniences: dark mode and likes won’t be remembered, and the comment form won’t keep your details.
Browser “Do Not Track” signals aren’t a recognised standard, so the site doesn’t change its behaviour when one is sent. Blocking cookies in your browser is the reliable way to opt out.
Want to skip affiliate cookies completely? Type the product’s web address into your browser instead of clicking our link. It won’t support our work, but it’s entirely your call.
Changes to this policy
We re-check our cookies whenever we add or remove a plugin, script or service. When something changes, we update this page and the date at the top.
Questions about cookies?
Email us and a real person will answer. For your wider privacy rights, read our Privacy Policy and GDPR rights pages.
