The short version: a handful of cookies keep you signed in and keep forms secure. Google Analytics tells us which pages are worth keeping. Amazon sets its own cookie once you leave for their site, which is how we get paid. There is no advertising network on this site and nothing here follows you around the web.
What a cookie is, briefly
A small file a website asks your browser to keep, so the next request can be recognised as coming from the same visit. Some are essential — without them you could not stay signed in. Others are optional and exist to tell the site’s owners something. This page separates the two honestly.
Everything this site uses
| What it does | Set by | Type | How long |
|---|---|---|---|
| Keeping you signed inHolds your session so you are not asked to log in on every page. Without it, accounts, wishlists and price alerts cannot work. | 7interiordesign.com | Essential | Session, or 30 days if you stay signed in |
| Security and abuse preventionCross-site request forgery protection on forms — stops someone else submitting things as you. | 7interiordesign.com | Essential | Session |
| Remembering your preferencesSmall choices you have made in the interface, stored in your browser so the site behaves the same next visit. | 7interiordesign.com | Essential | Up to 12 months |
| Understanding which pages are usefulAggregate usage — pages viewed, roughly where visitors came from, whether something is broken. We look at totals, not at you. | Google Analytics | Analytics | Up to 24 months |
| Spam protection on the contact formJudges whether a form submission is automated. Loads only on the contact page. | Google reCAPTCHA | Security | Session |
| Crediting a purchase to this siteSet by Amazon, on Amazon, after you follow one of our links. It is how they know to pay us commission. We cannot read it, and it does not tell us what you bought. | Amazon | Affiliate | Typically 24 hours |
How to control them
Every browser lets you block or delete cookies, either for all sites or for this one: look under Settings → Privacy. Blocking the essential ones will sign you out and stop price alerts and wishlists from working; blocking the rest costs you nothing.
To opt out of Google Analytics everywhere, Google publishes a browser add-on at tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout. Most browsers also have a “do not track” or tracker-blocking setting that covers it.
The Amazon cookie is set on Amazon’s side, so it is governed by their policies and managed in your Amazon account settings, not here.
How this relates to your data
What we do with the information these cookies produce — and your rights over it — is set out in the privacy notice. Why the affiliate cookie exists at all is covered in the affiliate disclosure.