Not the Homemade Kind

The Cookies Policy
Worth Reading.

Every website has a cookies policy. Most of them are so aggressively dull that reading one is medically indistinguishable from a light nap. This one is different. It covers everything the law requires, and it is also, against all odds, slightly entertaining.

Last updated: 25 June 2026 Calories: Zero Actual biscuits mentioned: Two
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What even is a cookie? The different types Which ones Jo actually uses Third-party cookies How to get rid of them Still have questions?
01

What even
is a cookie?

Not a biscuit. I know. Deeply disappointing. Allow me to explain what they actually are, because most people have been clicking "Accept All" for years without the faintest idea what they agreed to.

A cookie is a tiny text file that a website places on your device when you visit. That is it. It is not a virus. It is not spyware. It is not a surveillance operation run by people in a dark room watching your every click. Think of it as a sticky note your browser keeps, so the website can remember a few things about your visit.

For example: without cookies, every time you visited a site and filled in a form, it would forget everything the moment you moved to another page. Cookies are why that does not happen. They are genuinely useful. They just got a bad reputation because some companies used them irresponsibly, and now we all have to click through multiple banners every time we want to read something.

Fun fact nobody asked for: The name "cookie" comes from a Unix computing term called a "magic cookie," which was a packet of data that programs exchanged. It has absolutely nothing to do with baked goods. The person who named them was either very creative or very hungry. We will never know.

Cookies are stored on your device, not on this server. This site cannot read your cookies from other websites. It cannot access your files. It cannot see what else is on your device. Cookies are isolated, site-specific little text files and nothing more dramatic than that.

02

The different
types of cookie.

Not all cookies are created equal. Some are essential. Some are optional. Here is a plain-English breakdown:

Strictly Necessary Cookies Always on

These are the ones that make the website actually work. Without them, forms would not form, buttons would not button, and the whole experience would quietly fall apart. You cannot opt out of these, because opting out would be the digital equivalent of removing the foundations from a building and wondering why it looks different.

Examples: session tokens, CSRF protection tokens, consent preference storage.

Analytics Cookies Optional

These tell me things like: how many people visited the site today, which pages were useful, which pages people quietly left after three seconds, and roughly where in the world visitors are from. This data is anonymised and aggregated. I am not watching you personally. I am looking at trends to understand how to make the site more helpful.

Examples: Google Analytics, similar traffic analysis tools.

Marketing & Conversion Cookies Success pages only

These fire on success pages after you have submitted a form. They tell advertising platforms that a conversion happened. This is how I know which ads are working. Importantly, these only fire after you have already filled in a form and clicked submit. They do not follow you around the internet like an overeager sales rep. They fire once, on one page, for one purpose.

Examples: Meta Pixel, Google Ads conversion tag (on success pages only).

Preference Cookies Optional

These remember choices you have made so you do not have to make them again. Your cookie consent preference, for example, is stored in one of these. Genuinely useful. Genuinely harmless. About as sinister as a Post-it note.

Examples: cookie consent preferences, display settings.

03

Which ones does
this site actually use?

Let us be completely transparent. Here is what is actually running on this site, and why.

The honest summary: Strictly necessary cookies to keep the site working. Analytics to understand traffic. Conversion tracking on success pages only. That is the complete list. If it is not on this list, it is not on the site.

Session cookies keep the site functional during your visit. They expire the moment you close your browser. They leave no trace. They are the most well-mannered cookies in existence.

Consent preference cookies remember whether you have accepted or declined optional cookies, so you are not asked again every time you visit. These are doing you a favour.

Analytics cookies from Google Analytics collect anonymised data about site traffic. IP addresses are anonymised, which means they cannot identify you as an individual. They know "a person from Cyprus visited the about page." That is about the level of detail involved.

Conversion tracking cookies only activate on success pages after you have submitted a form. They signal to advertising platforms that a lead was generated. No personal data is transmitted. Just "conversion happened: yes."

04

Third-party cookies.
The ones I don't bake myself.

Some cookies on this site are set by third-party services rather than directly by me. I have vetted them all, but they do have their own policies worth knowing about.

Service What it does Their policy
Google Analytics Anonymised site traffic analysis Google Privacy Policy
Google Ads Conversion tracking on success pages Google Privacy Policy
Meta (Facebook/Instagram) Conversion tracking on success pages Meta Privacy Policy
Google Fonts Loading the typefaces used on this site Google Privacy Policy
About that Google Fonts note: Even loading a font involves a brief request to Google's servers, which means Google sees your IP address for approximately the duration of a blink. This is standard for virtually every website that uses web fonts. I mention it because I would rather tell you everything than gloss over something small.
05

How to get rid of
the ones you don't want.

You have real options. Here is exactly what you can do:

Option 1: Use the cookie banner. When you first visit, you will see a cookie consent banner. You can accept all cookies, accept only the essential ones, or manage your preferences manually. Your choice is stored so you are not asked again.

Option 2: Clear cookies in your browser. Every major browser lets you delete cookies at any time:

Browser How to clear cookies
Chrome Settings > Privacy and security > Clear browsing data > Cookies
Safari Settings > Safari > Clear History and Website Data
Firefox Settings > Privacy & Security > Cookies and Site Data > Clear Data
Edge Settings > Privacy, search, and services > Clear browsing data

Option 3: Opt out of Google Analytics. Google offers a free Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on that prevents your visit being tracked across any site using Google Analytics.

If you block everything, including essential cookies: Parts of the site may behave oddly. The contact form in particular uses a session mechanism that requires cookies. This is not a punishment. It is just how the web works.
06

Still have
questions?

If something here is unclear, or you want to know something specific about how cookies work on this site, get in touch directly. For anything relating to your personal data more broadly, the Privacy Policy is the right place to look.

Cookie questions or general musings

Email: jo@jostavraki.com
Subject line: "Cookie Question" works perfectly.
Response time: Within two working days. Usually sooner.

For the avoidance of doubt: Jo cannot send actual cookies by email. The logistics are a nightmare and the crumb situation would be catastrophic.

Last updated: 25 June 2026  |  Effective immediately

Right. Cookies done.
Shall we have a proper conversation?

You now know more about this site's cookies than most people know about their own phone settings. That energy could be going somewhere useful.

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