Cookie Policy
Last updated: 3 May 2025
This policy covers cookies and similar tracking technologies used on affordablething.com.
Contents
1. What are cookies and how do they work?
Cookies are small text files that websites save to your browser or device when you visit. They help websites remember information about your visit, such as your preferences, login status, and how you interact with content.
Different types of cookies serve different purposes:
- Session cookies expire when you close your browser. They are used for things like keeping you logged in during a single visit.
- Persistent cookies remain on your device after you close your browser, up to a specified expiry date. They enable websites to recognise you across sessions.
- First-party cookies are set directly by the website you are visiting (in this case, affordablething.com).
- Third-party cookies are set by external services used on the website, such as Google Analytics, Google AdSense, or Microsoft Clarity.
In addition to cookies, we and our third-party partners may use similar tracking technologies including web beacons (1×1 pixel images that track whether content was loaded), local storage (a browser-based data storage method), and JavaScript tracking scripts.
This policy applies to all of these technologies collectively, though for simplicity we refer to them as “cookies” throughout.
2. Types of cookies we use
We use four categories of cookies. Each is explained in detail below, along with a full table of specific cookies within each category. The categories are:
- Essential cookies — required for the website to function. Cannot be disabled.
- Analytics cookies — help us understand how visitors use our site. Can be opted out of.
- Advertising cookies — used to serve and measure advertisements. Can be opted out of.
- Affiliate and social cookies — set when you interact with affiliate links or social sharing buttons. Can be avoided by not clicking these elements.
3. Essential cookies
Essential cookies are strictly necessary for the website to operate. Without them, basic functions such as page loading, form submission, and security would not work. These cookies cannot be disabled via our cookie consent tool, though you can block them through your browser settings (which may break certain site functionality).
We do not use essential cookies to collect personal data beyond what is technically necessary for the site to function.
| Cookie name | Set by | Purpose | Type | Expiry |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PHPSESSID | WordPress / Server | Maintains your PHP session while browsing. Prevents you needing to reload for every page interaction. | Session | When browser closes |
| wordpress_logged_in_* | WordPress | Identifies authenticated logged-in users (WordPress admin and editors only, not site visitors). | Session | When browser closes |
| wordpress_test_cookie | WordPress | Checks whether your browser accepts cookies before login. Deleted after check. | Session | Immediately after check |
| wp-settings-* | WordPress | Stores editor preferences for logged-in WordPress users only. | Persistent | 1 year |
| litespeed_* | LiteSpeed Cache | Manages cached page delivery. Identifies whether to serve a cached or fresh version of a page for performance. | Session / Persistent | Session / 1 day |
| fluentform_visitor_* | Fluent Forms | Anti-spam and session management for contact form submissions. Prevents duplicate submissions. | Session | When browser closes |
| fluentform_id_* | Fluent Forms | Tracks form step completion for multi-page forms and ensures form integrity. | Session | When browser closes |
4. Analytics cookies
Analytics cookies help us understand how visitors use our site. Data collected is aggregated and used to improve our content, fix navigation problems, and understand which guides are most useful. Where possible, we anonymise IP addresses before processing.
We use two analytics tools: Google Analytics (via Site Kit by Google) and Microsoft Clarity. These operate independently and collect complementary types of data.
Google Analytics (Site Kit by Google)
Google Analytics collects quantitative usage data: page views, session durations, traffic sources, device types, and geographic regions. Site Kit by Google connects Analytics, Search Console, and AdSense data to our WordPress dashboard.
| Cookie name | Set by | Purpose | Type | Expiry |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| _ga | Google Analytics | Registers a unique ID for a device to distinguish users for traffic analysis. Used to calculate visit, session, and campaign data in reports. | Persistent | 2 years |
| _ga_[ID] | Google Analytics 4 | Persists session state for GA4 (Google Analytics 4). Associates sessions with user measurements. | Persistent | 2 years |
| _gid | Google Analytics | Registers a unique ID for a device for a single day. Used to generate statistical data on how visitors use the site. | Persistent | 24 hours |
| _gat_UA-* | Google Analytics | Throttles request rate to Google Analytics. Limits the number of data points collected per minute. | Session | 1 minute |
| _gac_* | Google Analytics | Contains information about which advertising campaign brought the user to the site. Used if Google Ads is connected. | Persistent | 90 days |
Microsoft Clarity
Microsoft Clarity records anonymised session replays and heatmaps. This allows us to see how visitors actually navigate our pages, where they stop reading, and where they click. Clarity does not capture passwords, payment information, or form field contents.
| Cookie name | Set by | Purpose | Type | Expiry |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| _clck | Microsoft Clarity | Persists the Clarity User ID and preferences to associate multiple sessions from the same user for heatmaps and recordings. | Persistent | 1 year |
| _clsk | Microsoft Clarity | Connects multiple page views within a single session together to create accurate session recordings. | Persistent | 24 hours |
| CLID | Microsoft Clarity | Identifies the first time Clarity saw this user on any site using Clarity. Used across Clarity-enabled sites. | Persistent | 1 year |
| ANONCHK | Microsoft | Checks whether user tracking is enabled for the Bing Ads machine learning system. Transferred from Clarity. | Session | 10 minutes |
| MR | Microsoft | Registers whether to refresh the MUID cookie when browsing different Microsoft websites. | Persistent | 7 days |
| MUID | Microsoft | Identifies unique web browsers visiting Microsoft sites. Used for advertising, site analytics, and other operational purposes. | Persistent | 13 months |
| SM | Microsoft | Used in synchronising the MUID across Microsoft domains. | Session | When browser closes |
5. Advertising cookies
We display advertisements via Google AdSense. Advertising cookies enable Google to serve contextual and interest-based advertisements, measure the performance of those advertisements, and prevent you from seeing the same ad too many times.
These cookies may be used to build a profile of your interests and serve personalised ads to you across other websites. We do not control which specific ads appear. The presence of an advertisement on our site is not an endorsement by AffordableThing.
| Cookie name | Set by | Purpose | Type | Expiry |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| __gads | Google AdSense | Registers and reports actions users take on a site after seeing or clicking on an ad. Used to measure the effectiveness of advertising and manage ad frequency. | Persistent | 13 months |
| __gpi | Google AdSense | Similar to __gads. Stores user-specific data about advertising actions for Google’s ad services. | Persistent | 13 months |
| IDE | Google DoubleClick | Used by Google DoubleClick to register and report actions on the website after viewing or clicking an ad. Enables measurement of ad effectiveness and targeting across sites. | Persistent | 13 months |
| NID | Registers a unique ID that identifies a returning user’s device. Used to serve targeted ads based on past visits to the site. | Persistent | 6 months | |
| test_cookie | Google DoubleClick | Checks whether your browser accepts cookies, required for ad serving. Deleted after the check. | Session | 15 minutes |
| DSID | Identifies logged-in Google users for cross-device ad targeting and conversion measurement. | Persistent | 2 weeks | |
| FLC | Records user behaviour and non-personal data to help optimise Google’s ad delivery across sites. | Session | 10 seconds | |
| AID | Enables ad personalisation across devices that are signed into a Google Account. | Persistent | 13 months | |
| TAID | Used for targeting advertising and conversion reporting on Google’s display network. | Session | When browser closes |
6. Affiliate and social cookies
Affiliate cookies are set by AliExpress when you click an affiliate link on our site. Social cookies are set by social networks when you interact with our sharing buttons.
We use privacy-safe configurations for social buttons where possible: social network scripts are not loaded until you actively click a share button, reducing the passive tracking that social buttons often enable.
| Cookie name | Set by | Purpose | Type | Expiry |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| aff_* | AliExpress / Alibaba | Tracks which affiliate referral source sent a visitor to AliExpress. Used to attribute sales to the correct affiliate (AffordableThing) for commission calculation. | Persistent | 30 days |
| xman_us_f | AliExpress | AliExpress user identification cookie. Used for session management and user recognition on the AliExpress platform after clicking through from our site. | Persistent | 30 days |
| ali_apache_* | AliExpress | AliExpress session identification and affiliate tracking. Set when navigating to AliExpress via our affiliate links. | Persistent | 30 days |
| cna | AliExpress / Alibaba | Unique identification for tracking returning visitors on AliExpress. Set after clicking our affiliate links. | Persistent | 10 years |
| Cookie name(s) | Set by | Purpose | Condition | Expiry |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| datr, c_user, fr, xs | Facebook uses these cookies for user authentication, session management, and ad targeting when you share content to Facebook. | Only on Facebook button click | 90 days – 2 years | |
| auth_token, guest_id, twid | Twitter / X | X/Twitter uses these for authentication and session management when you share content to X/Twitter. | Only on X/Twitter button click | Session – 2 years |
| _pinterest_sess, _pin_unauth | Pinterest uses these for authentication and tracking when you save content to Pinterest boards. | Only on Pinterest button click | Session – 1 year | |
| WhatsApp session data | WhatsApp / Meta | WhatsApp sharing triggers the WhatsApp app or web interface and does not set persistent cookies on our site. | Only on WhatsApp button click | Session |
7. How to manage and opt out of cookies
You have several ways to control the cookies placed on your device:
7.1 Browser settings
All modern browsers allow you to view, block, or delete cookies. You can usually find these controls in Settings > Privacy or Settings > Security. Blocking all cookies may cause certain site functions to stop working. Links to cookie management instructions for major browsers:
7.2 Analytics opt-outs
Google Analytics
Install the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on to prevent Google Analytics from collecting data about your visits across all websites that use it.
Microsoft Clarity
Opt out of Microsoft Clarity tracking at clarity.microsoft.com/privacy. You can also block Clarity cookies through your browser’s cookie settings.
7.3 Advertising opt-outs
Google personalised ads
Manage and opt out of personalised Google ads at adssettings.google.com. This controls personalised ad targeting but ads will still appear on our site (just not personalised to your interests).
Network Advertising Initiative (NAI)
Opt out of interest-based advertising from participating advertising networks at optout.networkadvertising.org.
Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA)
US and Canadian users can opt out of participating advertisers at optout.aboutads.info. EU/UK users can use youronlinechoices.eu.
Your Privacy Choices (US – CCPA)
California residents and other US state privacy law beneficiaries may have additional rights regarding the sale or sharing of personal data for advertising purposes. See Google’s Privacy Policy for US-specific options.
7.4 AliExpress affiliate cookies
Affiliate cookies are only set when you click an affiliate link on our site. If you prefer not to have these cookies set, navigate to AliExpress directly (aliexpress.com) rather than clicking our links. This will not affect your AliExpress shopping experience in any way.
8. More about our third-party cookie providers
For detailed information about the cookies set by each third-party service we use, refer to their respective documentation:
- Google Cookies Policy (covers Analytics, AdSense, and other Google services)
- Microsoft Privacy Statement (covers Clarity, Bing, and Azure)
- Fluent Forms Privacy Policy
- LiteSpeed Cache Privacy Policy
- AliExpress Privacy Policy
We do not guarantee that all cookies listed in the tables above are always present. Cookie presence varies based on the page you visit, whether you are logged into a Google account, your geographic location, and the specific ads being served at the time of your visit.
9. Changes to this policy
We update this Cookie Policy when we add new tools, remove existing ones, or when applicable cookie laws change. Material changes are reflected in the “Last updated” date at the top of this page. We encourage you to review this policy periodically, particularly if you have previously reviewed and accepted it.
If you have questions about our use of cookies, contact us via our Contact page.