Plain-English summary: we use a handful of technical cookies to keep your cart and login working, plus one optional counter cookie for privacy-respecting analytics. That’s it. No tracking pixels, no ad-network cookies, no cross-site profiling.
Last updated: April 2026.
1. What Is a Cookie?
A cookie is a small text file stored in your browser. It holds a short identifier that lets a website recognise your session across page loads — for example, to remember that you’ve added something to your cart, or that you’re logged in.
Cookies are categorised by purpose:
- Strictly necessary — without them core features break (cart, login, consent choice).
- Preferences — remember your theme choice, language preference, etc.
- Analytics — aggregate usage statistics.
- Marketing / tracking — profile you across sites for advertising.
Vital Quests uses only the first three categories. We do not set any marketing or tracking cookies.
2. Cookies We Set
| Name | Category | Purpose | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
pl_consent |
Strictly necessary | Remembers your cookie-consent choice so the banner doesn’t re-appear | 6 months |
pl_wishlist |
Preferences | Stores your saved-products list for anonymous browsers (logged-in users use account meta instead). HttpOnly flag set — not readable from JavaScript. | 1 month |
pl_theme |
Preferences | Remembers your light/dark mode choice | 1 year |
woocommerce_cart_hash, woocommerce_items_in_cart, wp_woocommerce_session_* |
Strictly necessary | WooCommerce cart session cookies — required for add-to-cart, checkout, and order confirmation | Session / 2 days |
wordpress_logged_in_*, wordpress_sec_* |
Strictly necessary | WordPress authentication cookies — only set if you create an account and log in. HttpOnly, Secure, SameSite=Lax. | Until logout, or 14 days with “remember me” |
_pk_id.*, _pk_ses.* (optional) |
Analytics | Self-hosted Matomo aggregate counter. First-party only, IP anonymised before storage, no cross-site reach. | 13 months (id) / 30 minutes (session) |
Every cookie is first-party — set on the vitalquests.org domain. We do not embed third-party cookies from Facebook, Google, TikTok, or any ad network.
3. Managing Your Choice
3.1 Our consent banner
On your first visit the consent banner lets you accept, reject, or customise non-strictly-necessary cookies. Your choice is stored in pl_consent and applied immediately — no page refresh needed. To change your mind later, click “Cookie Settings” in the site footer.
3.2 Browser-level controls
All major browsers let you block or delete cookies per-site. Quick links:
- Chrome:
Settings → Privacy and security → Cookies and other site data - Firefox:
Settings → Privacy & Security → Cookies and Site Data - Safari:
Settings → Privacy → Manage Website Data - Edge:
Settings → Cookies and site permissions → Manage and delete cookies
Blocking strictly-necessary cookies will break cart, checkout, and login on this Site. Blocking the Matomo cookie has no functional impact.
3.3 Do Not Track
We honour the browser-level Do Not Track signal. If you have it enabled, Matomo receives no request at all — not even an anonymised one. The session, cart, and consent cookies continue to function because they’re strictly necessary.
4. Similar Technologies We Don’t Use
- No browser fingerprinting (canvas, WebGL, font enumeration).
- No localStorage-based tracking — we only use localStorage for the theme choice, which you can clear via browser settings.
- No session replay (Hotjar, FullStory, etc.).
- No heatmap pixels.
- No pre-roll or rear-sync retargeting pixels.
5. Changes to This Policy
If we add, remove, or change the purpose of a cookie, we update this page and trigger the consent banner again so you can re-confirm your choice.
6. Contact
Cookie questions: support@vitalquests.org. For the full privacy framing around what we collect and why, see our Privacy Policy and the architectural Data Privacy & Security page.