0. Introduction

Cookies are a standard technology in most websites today. Their function is to store and retrieve non personal data about users, and they have the primary goal of improving the browsing experience through the webpages. They are small files that are stored in the user’s browser, and may have different specific functions, such as storing navigation preferences, collecting statistical information, remembering the registration data so that the user does not have to re-enter the username and password, or allowing other functionalities.

Our website only uses cookies when the user has previously consented. When accessing the website for the first time, a small banner in the browser will appear with the warning that our website uses cookies. In that banner users will also find a link to this Cookies Policy, which they must accept in order to navigate through the website.

The goal of this Cookies Policy is to help visitors understand our use of cookies, the purpose of the cookies used, and the different options that users have to manage cookies.

This Cookies Policy is subject to changes and modifications, so users should know the most current version. The date of the last update always appears at the bottom of the page.

1. Types of Cookies

There are different types of cookies that are classified depending on who manages them, how long they remain active, and what purpose they have.

If the cookies are placed by www.rarepuzzles.com and our website collects and manages the data, then we call them First-Party Cookies. If, on the other hand, the cookies are placed in the browser by another domain that we don’t manage, then they are called Third-Party Cookies. An very common example of third-party cookies in many websites are the cookies placed by Google Analytics.

If the cookies remain in the cookies file of the browser only until the site is abandoned and then they are removed from the device, we call them Session Cookies. But if the cookies remain in the browser so that www.rarepuzzles.com can read them each time there is a new visit to our website, then we call them Persistent Cookies. These cookies have an expiration date and remain stored for a limited time.

Finally, there is another classification with five types of cookies depending on the purpose of the data collection: Technical Cookies, Customization Cookies, Analysis Cookies, Advertisements Cookies, and Advertisements Based on Behavior Cookies.

  • Technical Cookies allow the user to navigate and use the different options and services of the website. For example, at www.rarepuzzles.com Technical Cookies allow the website to remember the contents of a reservation in the cart while the user browses through other pages of the website.
  • Customization Cookies allow the user  to access a website with some general characteristics depending on certain criteria. For example, a user can select the language in which the content of a website is displayed, so that on subsequent visits to the page the content will always appear in the selected language.
  • Analysis Cookies are used to measure and analyze statistically the user behavior on websites. They are useful, for example, to learn which pages are most visited within a website, or how long users stay on a given page.
  • Advertisements Cookies are used to manage the advertising space in a website under criteria such as the edited content or the frequency in which ads are displayed. For example, a user can choose how often ads are shown on the browser when he visits a particular website.
  • Advertisements Based on Behavior Cookies are used to manage the advertising space in a website in the most effective way possible. These cookies store information about users’ behavior obtained through observation of the browsing habits. Such cookies allow to develop a specific profile in order to display relevant advertisements based on such profile. Thus, for example, a website can show us travel offers in their advertising space if the day before we have been looking for information about vacation plans or visiting other websites related to travels.

2. Types of Cookies used at www.rarepuzzles.com

In this section, users can learn about the cookies that are being used on this website, as well as their type, function and features.

  • PHPSESSID (First-Party Cookie, Session Cookie, Technical Cookie). This cookie helps the site to identify the single session of a user. As a user navigates the site, this cookie tells the site that the user visiting the different pages is the same person, and not a different user each time a different page is requested. This cookie does not identify the user personally and it is not linked to any other information stored about the user. The information stored in the user’s browser is a unique random string of characters and it is deleted as soon as the user closes the browser.
  • wordpress_test_cookie (First-Party Cookie, Session Cookie, Technical Cookie). Our website is based on WordPress, and this is a cookie that the software of WordPress places when a user navigates to the login page website. The cookie is used to check whether the user’s browser is set to allow cookies or refuse them. The information stored in the user’s browser is the expression “WP Cookie Check” and it is deleted when the user closes the browser. In addition, this cookie is only installed on the browsers of registered users.
  • wordpress_ [hash] (First-Party Cookie, Session Cookie, Technical Cookie). The software of WordPress uses this cookie to store authentication details about www.rarepuzzles.com, and its use is limited to the environment of the administration console. The information stored in the user’s browser are the details of the user authentication in encrypted form ([hash]), and it is deleted when the user closes the browser. This cookie is only installed on the browsers of registered users.
  • wordpress_logged_in_ [hash] (First-Party Cookie, Session Cookie, Technical Cookie). The software of WordPress uses this cookie to know when a registered user is logged in with his credentials in www.rarepuzzles.com, so that it can know who the user is when interacting within the website. The information stored in the browser are the details of the user authentication in encrypted form ([hash]), and it is deleted when the user closes the browser. This cookie is placed only on the browser of registered users.
  • wp-settings-{time}-[UID] (First-Party Cookies, Persistent Cookies, Customization Cookies). These cookies may appear as wp-settings-[UID] or wp-settings-time-[UID]. UID is a unique identification number that each user receives during registration and it is stored in the database of the website. Each user has a different number, so when checking cookies at www.rarepuzzles.com, the cookie will vary from one user to another. These cookies are used to remember the customization preferences set by the user. The information placed in the user’s browser is a text with the various parameters set by the user and it is removed after about one year.
  • comment_author_ [hash], coment_author_email_ [hash], coment_author_url_ [hash] (First-Party Cookies, Persistent Cookies, Customization Cookies). The software of WordPress uses these cookies to facilitate the process of leaving comments on the website. They are placed in the user’s browser when they leave a comment, even if they have not registered. This is done for convenience, so that visitors do not have to fill out their data again if they want to leave another comment. The information stored in the user’s browser are the details entered by the visitor when he wrote the comment (respectively the name, email, and URL), but in encrypted form ([hash]), and it is removed after 347 days.
  • woocommerce_session_[hash] (First-Party Cookie, Persistent Cookie, Technical Cookie). This cookie is used by the plugin Woocommerce and it contains encrypted information identifying the user and the session expiration date in the case of registered users. For guest shoppers, it is a randomly generated cryptographically strong ID. Thanks to this cookie, the software knows where to find the cart data in the database for each user. No personal information is recorded with this cookie and it is removed after 48 hours.
  • woocommerce_cart_hash (First-Party Cookie, Session Cookie, Technical Cookie). This cookie is used by the plugin WooCommerce and it contains an encoded string representing the contents of the WooCommerce shopping cart. No personal information is recorded with this cookie and it is removed after 24 hours.
  • woocommerce_items_in_cart (First-Party Cookie, Session Cookie, Technical Cookie). This cookie is used by the plugin WooCommerce and it records if there are any items in the WooCommerce shopping cart. No personal information is recorded with this cookie and it is removed after 24 hours.
  • _ga (Third-Party Cookie, Persistent Cookie, Analysis Cookie). This cookie is used by Google Analytics, which is a tool to analyze web traffic. This cookie gathers anonymous data related to the navigation of the users through the website. The purpose is to know the number of visits, origin, duration, keywords, and other statistical data, with the ultimate goal of improving the website and the service offered by www.rarepuzzles.com. The cookie identifies anonymously each user, and places in the browser a string with a randomly generated user ID and the timestamp when the cookie was generated. Two years after the date in the timestamp, the cookie is removed. Google has their own Privacy Policy which you can review here. If you’d like to opt out of tracking by Google Analytics, visit the Google Analytics opt-out page.

3. Acceptance of the Cookies Policy

The Owner assumes that users accept the use of cookies from the moment they access www.rarepuzzles.com and navigate through its pages. However, information about the Cookies Policy will appear in a small banner that will be displayed when the user visits the website for the first time. With that information, the user will have different options.

The User can accept the Cookies Policy of the website. In that case, the banner will not be displayed again when the user accesses any page of the website.

The User can also do nothing. In that case, the banner will remain open at the top of the page and the user will be able to continue browsing. However, we will assume then that he has implicitly accepted the Cookies Policy.

Finally, the User can choose to read more and change the settings of his browser. In that case, he will be directed to this page, where he can learn more about our Cookies Policy and can make changes in the way his browser manages cookies.

4. Modification of the Cookies Configuration

Users can restrict, block or delete cookies from www.rarepuzzles.com or any other webpage changing the configuration of their web browser, although the way to do it is different in each browser.

Although we can not include in this document the details of how to modify cookies in all browsers available, we can add some links to information about the procedure for the most common browsers.

Alternatively, you can control some 3rd party cookies by using a privacy enhancement platform such as optout.aboutads.info or youronlinechoices.com. For more information about cookies, visit allaboutcookies.org.


(Last Update: May 4, 2018).