Cookie Policy

Our Privacy Policy explains our principles when it comes to the collection, processing, and storage of your information. This policy specifically explains how we, our partners, and users of our services deploy cookies, as well as the options you have to control them.

What are cookies?

Cookies are small pieces of data, stored in text files, that are stored on your computer or other devices when websites are loaded in a browser. They are widely used to “remember” you and your preferences, either for a single visit (through a “session cookie”) or for multiple repeat visits (using a “persistent cookie”). They ensure a consistent and efficient experience for visitors, and perform essential functions such as allowing users to register and remain logged in. Cookies may be set by the site that you are visiting (known as “first-party cookies”), or by third parties, such as those who serve content or provide advertising or analytics services on the website (“third-party cookies”).

Both websites and HTML emails may also contain other tracking technologies such as “web beacons” or “pixels.” These are typically small transparent images that provide us with statistics, for similar purposes as cookies. They are often used in conjunction with cookies, though they are not stored on your computer in the same way. As a result, if you disable cookies, web beacons may still load, but their functionality will be restricted. We do not use web beacons at this time.

How we use cookies

We use cookies for a number of different purposes. Some cookies are necessary for technical reasons; some enable a personalized experience for both visitors and registered users; and some may allow the display of advertising from selected third-party networks. Some of these cookies may be set when a page is loaded, or when a visitor takes a particular action (clicking the “like” or “follow” button on a post, for example).

Many of the cookies we use are only set if you are a registered user on this website (so you don’t have to log in every time, for example), while others are set whenever you visit one of our websites, irrespective of whether you have an account.

For more information on the choices you have about the cookies we use, please see the Controlling Cookies section below.

Where we place cookies

We set cookies in a number of different locations across our services. These include:

- On our websites (including wadistricts.org and hub.wadistricts.org).
- In the administrative dashboards of our websites.

Examples

Below are examples of the cookies set by Automattic, with explanations of their purpose. Some of these cookies are set across our whole network, whereas some are specific to individual services (e.g. WordPress.com, Longreads, etc). Please note that this is not an exhaustive list, but rather aims to be representative. Information about cookies that may be set by third parties, such as our ads partners, is below. Additionally, we occasionally set referrer cookies on Jetpack connected sites, using WooCommerce.

In addition, people and companies that use our services to publish or host their own sites may place additional cookies. We provide more information on these cookies below.

Required

Cookie	Purpose
Cache Storage	For controlling cached content for the purpose of increasing page speed for users.
PHPSESSID	Pertains to PHP which is the engine that runs WordPress.
machete_accepted_cookies	This cookie tells the browser whether you have accepted cookies or not.
pdb-sess	The Participants Database system sets this cooke. We use PDB to display various people and roles to you.
Database Storage	This cookie pertains to the MySQL database that stores website content.
Local Storage	WordPress does not use Local Storage. However, our theme or other plugins may use Local Storage to operate properly.
Service Workers	We use the Super Progressive Web Apps plugin to provide a more seamless user experience when the website is installed as an app on a computer, smartphone, or tablet.

Analytics and Performance

Cookie	Purpose
_pk_id.x	Set by Matomo web analytics. Visit What are the cookies created by Matomo javascript tracking client? for more information.
_pk_ses.x	Set by Matomo web analytics. Visit What are the cookies created by Matomo javascript tracking client? for more information.

Advertising

Cookie	Purpose
NA	At this time, we do not use third-party advertisements on our websites.

Controlling Cookies

Visitors may wish to restrict the use of cookies or completely prevent them from being set. Most browsers provide ways to control cookie behavior such as the length of time they are stored – either through built-in functionality or by utilizing third-party plugins. If you disable cookies, please be aware that some of the features of our service may not function correctly.

To find out more on how to manage and delete cookies, visit aboutcookies.org. For more details on your choices regarding the use of your web browsing activity for interest-based advertising you may visit the following sites:

On a mobile device, you may also be to adjust your settings to limit tracking.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about our use of cookies, you can find the most relevant contact details in our Privacy Policy.

Category of cookies	Why we use these cookies
Required	These cookies are essential for our websites and services to perform basic functions and are necessary for us to operate certain features. These include those required to allow registered users to authenticate and perform account-related functions, store preferences set by users such as account name, language, and location, and ensure our services are operating properly.
Analytics and Performance	These cookies allow us to optimize performance by collecting information on how users interact with our websites, including which pages are visited most, as well as other analytical data. We use these details to improve how our websites function and to understand how users interact with them.
Advertising	These cookies are set by us and our advertising partners to provide you with relevant content and to understand that content’s effectiveness. They may be used to collect information about your online activities over time and across different websites to predict your preferences and to display more relevant advertisements to you. These cookies also allow a profile to be built about you and your interests and enable personalized ads to be shown to you based on your profile.

Cookies