Cookie Policy
This policy describes the cookies and similar storage technologies used on AIDiveForge — the ones we control directly and the ones set by service providers like Google Analytics. It accompanies our Privacy Policy.
- We set cookies for essential site function, anonymous self-hosted analytics, and (with consent) Google Analytics 4.
- Analytics and marketing cookies are denied by default — you choose what to allow via the consent banner.
- You can change your choice any time by clicking "Cookie settings" in the footer.
- We honor Global Privacy Control (GPC) signals as an opt-out of analytics and marketing.
1. What is a cookie?
A cookie is a small text file that a website stores in your browser to remember information about your visit. We use cookies and similar technologies — local storage and small first-party identifiers used for analytics — collectively referred to here as "cookies."
Cookies set by us (from aidiveforge.com) are first-party. Cookies set by a service provider like Google are third-party.
2. Categories of cookies we use
2.1 Strictly necessary
These cookies are required for the Service to work. They don't track you, don't need consent, and you can't disable them through the consent banner — only by blocking cookies in your browser, which will break login, security features, and shopping-cart functionality.
2.2 Functional / preferences
Remember choices like your accepted-consent state, your theme preference, and other UI settings. Set by us; not used for advertising.
2.3 Analytics — self-hosted
Power our internal page-view counters and click metrics. The data is stored in our own database and never shared with third parties. These cookies don't fire if you have not granted analytics consent and don't fire for logged-in administrators.
2.4 Analytics — Google Analytics 4 (third-party)
Provided by Google LLC through Google Site Kit. Only loaded after you grant analytics consent through the banner, and never for logged-in administrators. Google operates as an independent controller for the data captured by these cookies; their use is governed by Google's Privacy Policy. You can opt out across all sites with Google's Opt-out Browser Add-on.
2.5 Marketing
We do not currently set advertising or retargeting cookies. If that changes, this section will be updated before any such cookies are deployed.
3. Inventory of cookies
| Name | Set by | Purpose | Duration | Category |
|---|---|---|---|---|
_adf_consent_v2 | First-party | Stores your granular consent choices (analytics / marketing). | 12 months | Strictly necessary |
_adf_consent | First-party | Legacy binary consent flag for back-compatibility. | 12 months | Strictly necessary |
_adf_vid | First-party | Visitor ID used by self-hosted analytics. Pseudonymous. | 12 months | Analytics (self-hosted) |
_adf_sid | First-party | Session ID for self-hosted analytics. | 30 minutes | Analytics (self-hosted) |
_adf_owner | First-party | Flags an authenticated administrator's traffic so it's excluded from visitor stats. | 10 years | Functional |
_adf_utm_* | First-party | Persists UTM campaign attribution across a session. | 30 days | Analytics (self-hosted) |
_adf_land | First-party | Landing page of current session. | 30 minutes | Analytics (self-hosted) |
wordpress_logged_in_* | First-party | WordPress session cookie for logged-in users. | Session / 14 days | Strictly necessary |
wp-settings-* | First-party | WordPress admin UI preferences. | 12 months | Functional |
_ga | Third-party (Google) | Google Analytics 4 client identifier. | 13 months | Analytics (third-party) |
_ga_FH7LTG7DE7 | Third-party (Google) | Google Analytics 4 property session state. | 13 months | Analytics (third-party) |
This inventory is updated when we add or remove cookies. If you find a cookie set on aidiveforge.com that isn't on this list, please email privacy@aidiveforge.com.
4. How we ask for and store consent
When you first visit, we show a consent banner that defaults to denying analytics and marketing storage, in line with Google Consent Mode v2 defaults. Your choice is stored in the first-party _adf_consent_v2 cookie. Until you grant analytics consent, no Google Analytics or third-party-analytics cookie is set; only the self-hosted essentials are.
You can change your choice any time by clicking the "Cookie settings" link in the site footer, which reopens the banner.
5. Global Privacy Control (GPC)
We honor the Global Privacy Control signal. If your browser sends GPC, we treat it as an opt-out of analytics and marketing storage even if you've previously granted consent.
6. Do Not Track
Browser "Do Not Track" headers don't have a universally agreed meaning, but we honor them the same way we honor GPC: as an opt-out of analytics and marketing.
7. How to block or delete cookies
Most browsers let you view, manage, and delete cookies in their settings. Blocking strictly-necessary cookies will break parts of the Service (logging in, your shopping cart). Specific instructions are available for:
8. Changes to this policy
We update this policy when our cookie set changes or applicable law changes. Material changes are reflected in the Effective date above. For substantial changes that affect what data we collect, we'll re-prompt the consent banner.
9. Contact
For questions, email privacy@aidiveforge.com.