Cookie Policy

Last updated: 11 September 2026

This page explains the cookies and similar technologies used on cubadugout.com, who sets them, and how to control them. It describes what the site actually loads — not a generic list. It was last checked against the live site on 11 September 2026.

What we set ourselves

Cuba Dugout sets almost nothing. There is no login for readers, no shopping basket and no comment form. WordPress sets a session cookie only for the site administrator when signed in to the dashboard.

What third parties set

Most cookies on this site come from services embedded in the pages:

  • Google AdSense (pagead2.googlesyndication.com, googleads.g.doubleclick.net) — serves the advertising. Google uses cookies to limit how often you see an ad, to measure clicks, and, where permitted, to personalise which ads you see. A related Google service (adtrafficquality.google) checks that ad traffic is genuine rather than automated.
  • Google Analytics 4, loaded through the Google tag (googletagmanager.com) and reporting to google-analytics.com — measures how many people visit, which pages they read and roughly where they are in the world.
  • Cloudflare — sits in front of the site to keep it fast and to filter automated attacks. It may set cookies to tell real readers apart from bots, and records basic performance timings.
  • Jetpack Stats (stats.wp.com, pixel.wp.com, run by Automattic) — a second, simpler visitor count.
  • Jetpack Site Accelerator (i0.wp.com) — serves images from Automattic’s network rather than our server, so pages load faster. It receives your IP address in order to deliver the image.
  • Google Fonts (fonts.googleapis.com, fonts.gstatic.com) — supplies the display typeface used in the site header. Google receives your IP address when the font is fetched.
  • Wordfence — our security plugin. It sets a cookie only when someone signs in to the site dashboard, not for ordinary readers.

The cookies by name

CookieSet byWhat it doesTypical lifetime
_gaGoogle AnalyticsTells one browser apart from another so visits are not double-counted2 years
_ga_Y3B8BZSGDMGoogle AnalyticsKeeps track of the current visit2 years
__gads, __gpi, __eoiGoogle AdSenseLimits how often an ad is repeated, measures clicks and, where permitted, personalises ads. Set only when an advertisement is actually servedup to 13 months
__cf_bm, cf_clearanceCloudflareDistinguishes real readers from automated traffic30 minutes to 1 year
wordpress_logged_in_*, wfwaf-authcookie-*WordPress, WordfenceSigned-in site administrators only. Never set for readerssession

Advertising and personalisation

Advertising is the only reason this site is free to read. Ads are served by Google AdSense, and Google may use cookies to show ads based on your prior visits to this and other websites.

Two things we want to be plain about. First, since 11 September 2026 the advertising features of our Google Analytics property are switched off, so what we measure about your visit is not used to build advertising audiences. Second, we run no advertising campaigns of our own and we do not sell reader data. A Meta (Facebook) tracking pixel was present on this site until 29 August 2026; it was removed, and nothing from Meta loads here now.

You can review and change how Google personalises ads for you at My Ad Center, and opt out of personalised advertising generally at optout.aboutads.info.

Controlling cookies

  • Every major browser lets you block or delete cookies in its settings. Blocking them will not stop you reading this site.
  • Browser “Do Not Track” and Global Privacy Control signals are respected where the services above support them.
  • To opt out of Google Analytics across all sites, Google offers a browser add-on.

Questions

Write to [email protected] or use the contact form. See also our Privacy Policy and Your Data Rights page.