Our Privacy Policy explains our principles when it comes to the collection, processing, and storage of your information. This policy specifically explains how we, our partners, and users of our services deploy cookies, as well as the options you have to control them.
What are cookies?
Cookies are small pieces of data, stored in text files, that are stored on your computer or other device when websites are loaded in a browser. They are widely used to “remember” you and your preferences, either for a single visit (through a “session cookie”) or for multiple repeat visits (using a “persistent cookie”). They ensure a consistent and efficient experience for visitors, and perform essential functions such as allowing users to register and remain logged in. Cookies may be set by the site that you are visiting (known as “first party cookies”), or by third parties, such as those who serve content or provide advertising or analytics services on the website (“third party cookies”).
Both websites and HTML emails may also contain other tracking technologies such as “web beacons” or “pixels.” These are typically small transparent images that provide us with statistics, for similar purposes as cookies. They are often used in conjunction with cookies, though they are not stored on your computer in the same way. As a result, if you disable cookies, web beacons may still load, but their functionality will be restricted.
How we use cookies
We use cookies for a number of different purposes. Some cookies are necessary for technical reasons; some enable a personalized experience for both visitors and registered users; and some allow the display of advertising from selected third party networks. Some of these cookies may be set when a page is loaded, or when a visitor takes a particular action (clicking the “like” or “follow” button on a post, for example).
Many of the cookies we use are only set if you are a registered WordPress.com user (so you don’t have to log in every time, for example), while others are set whenever you visit one of our websites, irrespective of whether you have an account.
For more information on the choices you have about the cookies we use, please see the Controlling Cookies section below.
Where we place cookies
We set cookies in a number of different locations across our services. These include:
- On our websites (including automattic.com, wordpress.com, vip.wordpress.com, jetpack.com, gravatar.com, intensedebate.com, vaultpress.com, and akismet.com).
- In the administrative dashboards of our websites, such as Calypso and wp-admin.
- On sites we host for our users.
- On sites that use our plugins (e.g. Jetpack).
- In the emails we send.
Types of Cookie
The table below explains the types of cookies we use on our websites and why we use them.
| Category of cookies | Why we use these cookies |
| Strictly Necessary | These cookies are essential for websites on our services to perform their basic functions. These include those required to allow registered users to authenticate and perform account related functions, as well as to save the contents of virtual “carts” on sites that have an ecommerce functionality. |
| Functionality | These cookies are used to store preferences set by users such as account name, language, and location. |
| Security | We use these cookies to help identify and prevent potential security risks. |
| Analytics and Performance | Performance cookies collect information on how users interact with our websites, including what pages are visited most, as well as other analytical data. We use these details to improve how our websites function and to understand how users interact with them. |
| Advertising | These cookies are used to display relevant advertising to visitors who use our services or visit websites we host or provide, as well as to understand and report on the efficacy of ads served on our websites. They track details such as the number of unique visitors, the number of times particular ads have been displayed, and the number of clicks the ads have received. They are also used to build user profiles, including showing you ads based on products you’ve viewed or acts you have taken on our (and other) websites. These are set by Automattic and trusted third party networks, and are generally persistent in nature. |
| Third Party / Embedded Content | Sites hosted on WordPress.com make use of different third party applications and services to enhance the experience of website visitors. These include social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter (through the use of sharing buttons), or embedded content from Youtube and Vimeo. As a result, cookies may be set by these third parties, and used by them to track your online activity. We have no direct control over the information that is collected by these cookies. |
User Sites
In addition to the cookies set on our own sites, we utilize cookies for our Site Statsfeature. This tallies the unique numbers of visitors to a site, as well as the number from specific geographic locations. A visitor is counted when we see a user or browser for the first time in a given period.
Examples
Below are examples of the cookies set by Automattic, with explanations of their purpose. Some of these cookies are set across our whole network, whereas some are specific to individual services (e.g. WordPress.com, Longreads, etc). Please note that this is not an exhaustive list, but rather aims to be representative. Information about cookies that may be set by third parties, such as our ads partners, is below. Additionally, we occasionally set referrer cookies on Jetpack connected sites, using WooCommerce.
In addition, people and companies that use our services to publish or host their own sites may place additional cookies. We provide more information on these cookies below.
Advertising
| Cookie | Purpose |
| ads | Tracks if a visitor has clicked an ad before. |
| lr_nw | Counts and tracks pageviews on Longreads.com. Used to determine whether or not to show our Membership popup message. |
| wordpress_eli | Reduces the display of ads for repeat visitors. |
Please also see the section below on third party advertisements that you may see on our sites or sites that use our services.
Analytics and Performance
| Cookie | Purpose |
| __pdvt | Used in log of Crowdsignal survey data to aid in debugging customer problems |
| ab | Used for “AB testing” of new features. |
| nux_flow_name | Identifies which user signup flow was shown to the user. |
| tk_ni / tk_ai / tk_qs | Gathers information for our own, first party analytics tool about how our services are used. A collection of internal metrics for user activity, used to improve user experience. |
| tk_*r | Referral cookies used to analyse referrer behavior for Jetpack connected sites using WooCommerce. |
| wp-affiliate-tracker | Remembers the ID of the affiliate that referred the current user to WordPress.com |
| utma / utmb / utmc / utmt / utmz / ga / gat / gid | Google Analytics. Gathers information that helps us understand how visitors interact with our websites, which allow us to create a better experience for our visitors. Our users may also implement Google Analytics on their own websites. |
Functionality
| Cookie | Purpose |
| __stripe_sid / __stripe_mid | For processing payment and to aid in fraud detection. |
| _longreads_prod_new | Authentication for Longreads.com Member accounts. Only active when logged in, on *.longreads.com domains. |
| akm_mobile | Stores whether a user has chosen to view the mobile version of a website. |
| botdlang | Used to track the language a user has selected to view popular blogs in. |
| landingpage_currency | Defines the currency displayed in WordPress.com landing pages. |
| pd_dashboard | Records last used folder in Crowdsignal dashboard so it can be reopened upon user’s next visit. |
| PD_USER_AUTH | Login cookie used to identify Crowdsignal user. |
| wordpress_logged_in* | Checks whether or not the current visitor is a logged in WordPress.com user. |
| wp-settings-{user_id} | Persists a user’s wp-admin configuration. |
| wp_sharing_{id} | Tracks whether or not a user has already performed an action. |
Security
| Cookie | Purpose |
| csrftoken | Python/Ajax security cookie used on accounts.longreads.com. |
Strictly Necessary
| Cookie | Purpose |
| country_code | Used in order to determine whether or not the cookie banner should be shown. Set immediately on page load and retained for 6 hours to remember the visitor’s country. |
| sensitive_pixel_option | Remembers the state of visitor acceptance to the cookie banner. Only set when the visitor clicks Accept. |
| twostep_auth | Set when the user is logged in using two factor authentication. |
| wordpress_test_cookie | Checks if cookies are enabled to provide appropriate user experience. |
Advertisements from Third Parties Through Automattic’s Ads Program
Our mission is to democratize publishing. So that we can offer free access to create a website using WordPress.com, we show ads on some of our users’ sites. Our users may also choose to place ads on their site through our ads program. Additionally, we also show ads from our ads program on some of our own websites (e.g. longreads.com), and in emails.
We operate our ads program in partnership with third party vendors. As part of the operation of our ads program, we use cookies to collect certain information. Advertising cookies enable us and our partners to serve ads and to personalize those ads based on information like visits to our sites and other sites on the Internet.
Below is a representative list of our advertising program partners, along with information on the cookies that that each partner sets. The partners we work with change from time to time, and this is not an exhaustive list. Your choices to control cookies related to our ads program are described below.
Below is a representative list of the cookies that may be set by our ads partners in connection with ads that appear in emails.
| Cookie | Purpose |
| pi-userid | Used to personalize email-based ads. |
| eid_ | Used in email-based ads to track if a visitor has clicked an ad and report to advertisers how their ads performed. |
Visitors to Sites with Jetpack installed
Below are examples of the cookies set for visitors to sites with the Jetpack plugin installed. For more details on the cookies set for administrators, please see https://jetpack.com/support/cookies/.
Jetpack Comments
| Cookie Name | Purpose |
| comment_author_{HASH} | Remembers the value entered into the comment form‘s name field. Specific to the site from which it is set. This cookie mirrors one set by the core WordPress software for commenting purposes. |
| comment_author_email_{HASH} | Remembers the value entered into the comment form‘s email field. Specific to the site from which it is set. This cookie mirrors one set by the core WordPress software for commenting purposes. |
| comment_author_url_{HASH} | Remembers the value entered into the comment form‘s URL field. Specific to the site from which it is set. This cookie mirrors one set by the core WordPress software for commenting purposes |
Mobile Theme
| Cookie Name | Purpose |
| akm_mobile | Remembers whether or not a user wishes to view the mobile version of a site. |
Subscriptions
| Cookie Name | Purpose |
| jetpack_comments_subscribe_{HASH} | Remembers the state of the post and comment subscription checkboxes. |
| jetpack_blog_subscribe_{HASH} | Remembers the state of the post and comment subscription checkboxes. |
EU Cookie Law Banner
| Cookie Name | Purpose |
| eucookielaw | Remembers the state of visitor acceptance to the EU Cookie Law banner. |
Please note that this section is not intended to be exhaustive, but rather aims to be representative, and that our users may set additional cookies (such as Google Analytics), depending on the features they have chosen to enable or the plugins they have installed.
Controlling Cookies
Visitors may wish to restrict the use of cookies or completely prevent them from being set. Most browsers provide for ways to control cookie behavior such as the length of time they are stored – either through built-in functionality or by utilizing third party plugins. If you disable cookies, please be aware that some of the features of our service may not function correctly.
To find out more on how to manage and delete cookies, visit aboutcookies.org. For more details on your choices regarding use of your web browsing activity for interest-based advertising you may visit the following sites:
On a mobile device, you may also be to adjust your settings to limit ad tracking.
You can opt out of Google Analytics by installing Google’s opt-out browser add-on.
Our Internal Analytics Tool
In order to better understand how our services are used, we monitor certain user activities that take place within our products, including page views and clicks on any links used when managing a site via our dashboards.
We call each one of these actions an “event.” Analytics events are attached to your WordPress.com account and are handled via a first party system that Automattic owns and maintains. In general, we record the following data for each event: IP address, WordPress.com user ID and username, WordPress.com-connected site ID (for sites not hosted on WordPress.com), user agent, referring URL, timestamp of event, browser language, and country code.
We use this information to improve our products, make our marketing to you more relevant, personalize your experience, and for the other purposes described in our Privacy Policy.
You may opt out of our analytics program through your user settings. By doing so, you won’t share information with our analytics tool about events or actions that happen after the opt-out, while logged in to your WordPress.com account. Note that opting out does not disable the functionality of the actions we track – for example, if you publish a post, we will still have record of that (don’t worry!), but for an event or action after you opt out, we will not have other data associated with that action or event in the analytics tool.
For our Simplenote Users: We use our first party analytics tool in Simplenote to help us better understand how Simplenote is used and improve the app for our users. You may opt-out through your privacy settings in the app. By doing so, you won’t share information with our analytics tool about events or actions that happen after the opt-out. One more thing–For Simplenote users who log onto Simplenote using their WordPress.com login, if you’d like to opt-out of our analytics tool on Simplenote, you’ll also need to opt out on the Simplenote app–not on your WP.COM Account Privacy Settings.
Consent for Advertising Cookies on Our Sites
You may see a “cookie banner” on our websites and dashboards. If you are visiting one of our users’ sites from the EU, then we do not set, or allow our ad partners to set, cookies that are used to show you targeted ads before you click to accept. When you consent in this manner, we and our advertising partners may set advertising cookies on the site you are visiting and on other of our websites, dashboards, and services. We’ll display the banner to you periodically, just in case you change your mind.
Consent and Choices for Advertisements on Our Users’ Sites Through Our Ads Program
You may see a “cookie banner” on our users’ websites, particularly if you are in the European Union. If so, then our ad program does not set, or allow our ad partners to set, cookies that are used to show you targeted ads before you accept. When you consent in this manner, we and our advertising partners may set third party advertising cookies on our network in order to show you personalized ads. We’ll display the banner to you periodically, just in case you change your mind.
* Please note this consent feature was implemented on May 22, 2018.
We set a cookie to help us understand how visitors engage with websites that participate in our ad program. Visitors may opt out of our use of this information by visiting this link (the opt-out will be processed immediately with no confirmation step). When you opt out, we replace the unique value for that cookie with an opt-out value. The opt-out works across all websites in our ads program. If you have opted out by accident, or wish to opt back in, you may do so by visiting this link. Please note that this option is browser specific, and so if you use a different device or browser or clear your cookies, then you will need to repeat the process.
Contact Us
If you have any questions about our use of cookies, you can find the most relevant contact details in our Privacy Policy.
