Cookies are small text files placed on your device when you visit a website. They help sites remember your preferences, analyse traffic, and serve personalised ads. This policy explains exactly which cookies SmartTravelAdvices.com uses and why.
1. How We Use Cookies
SmartTravelAdvices.com uses cookies for four main purposes:
- — required for the site to function
- — to understand how visitors use our site
- — to serve relevant ads via Google AdSense
- — to remember your preferences
When you first visit our site, our cookie consent banner gives you full control over non-essential cookies. You can change your preferences at any time.
2. Essential Cookies
These cookies are strictly necessary for the site to operate. They cannot be disabled.
| Cookie Name | Purpose | Duration | Provider |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stores your cookie consent preferences | 12 months | SmartTravelAdvices | |
| Maintains your session as you browse pages | Session | SmartTravelAdvices | |
| Security cookie (Cloudflare bot protection) | 30 minutes | Cloudflare |
3. Analytics Cookies
We use Google Analytics to understand how visitors find and use our site. This helps us improve our content and user experience. These cookies are only set with your consent.
| Cookie Name | Purpose | Duration | Provider |
|---|---|---|---|
| Distinguishes unique users for Google Analytics | 2 years | ||
| Maintains session state for Analytics 4 | 2 years | ||
| Distinguishes users (resets daily) | 24 hours | ||
| Throttles Analytics request rate | 1 minute |
Google Analytics data is anonymised and aggregated. We have enabled IP anonymisation. Google's Privacy Policy →
4. Advertising Cookies — Google AdSense
We display advertisements through Google AdSense. These cookies allow Google to show you relevant ads based on your browsing history across sites. They are only set with your consent.
| Cookie Name | Purpose | Duration | Provider |
|---|---|---|---|
| Links your activity with ad display; set by Google Ad Manager | 13 months | ||
| Stores user ID for ad personalisation | 13 months | ||
| Used by DoubleClick for personalised advertising | 13 months | ||
| Identifies signed-in Google users for ad targeting | 2 weeks | ||
| Stores preferences and other information for Google ads | 6 months | ||
| Gathers website statistics and tracks conversion rates | 30 days | ||
| Stores your Google ad consent status | 2 years |
Google uses these cookies to serve ads based on your visit to our site and other sites. How Google uses data when you use our partners' sites →
5. Functional Cookies
Functional cookies remember your preferences to improve your experience. These are only set with your consent.
| Cookie Name | Purpose | Duration | Provider |
|---|---|---|---|
| Remembers your display preferences (e.g. dark/light mode) | 12 months | SmartTravelAdvices | |
| Remembers if you dismissed the newsletter popup | 30 days | SmartTravelAdvices |
6. Managing Your Cookie Preferences
You have several options for controlling cookies:
6.1 Our Cookie Banner
When you first visit SmartTravelAdvices.com, you will see our cookie consent banner. Click "Manage Preferences" to choose which non-essential cookies to allow. You can change your choices at any time using the "Cookie Settings" link in our footer.
6.2 Browser Settings
You can configure your browser to block or delete cookies. Note that blocking all cookies may affect site functionality.
6.3 Opt Out of Google Advertising
You can opt out of personalised Google advertising at any time:
- Google Ads Settings — opt out of personalised ads in your Google account
- aboutads.info — opt out from multiple ad networks at once
- networkadvertising.org — NAI opt-out tool
7. Do Not Track
Some browsers send a "Do Not Track" (DNT) signal. Our site currently does not respond differently to DNT signals. You may use the cookie controls above to manage your preferences instead.
8. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Cookie Policy as our use of cookies changes or as new legal requirements arise. We will update the "Last updated" date and, for significant changes, notify you via a notice on the site.
9. Contact Us
Email: privacy@smarttraveladvices.com
Website: www.smarttraveladvices.com