Cookie Policy

Cookies and similar technologies used on HowToType.org, what each category does, and how to turn off the ones that aren't strictly needed to read the site.

Last reviewed on April 23, 2026.

What a Cookie Is

A cookie is a small text file that a website asks your browser to store. Next time you visit, the browser sends the file back so the site (or a third-party service embedded in it) can recognise your browser. Similar technologies — local storage, session storage, pixel tags — work in comparable ways, and everything below applies to them equally.

Cookies fall into four broad categories on HowToType.org: strictly necessary, preferences, analytics, and advertising. Only the first category is required to make the site work.

1. Strictly Necessary

These cookies and their equivalents are used by the hosting platform and the site's own code to deliver pages reliably. They may include a session identifier, a load-balancer routing token, and a flag that remembers whether you've already dismissed an in-page notice. Turning them off means the site can't load correctly.

2. Preferences

HowToType.org can store small preference values in your browser — for example, a theme setting picked up from the system's light/dark mode. These are set on your device only and are not sent to any third party.

3. Analytics (Google Analytics)

Google Analytics sets cookies (typically _ga and _ga_*) to distinguish browsers and to measure aggregate traffic. These cookies don't identify you by name and aren't used to target advertising on HowToType.org. They're used to decide which guides are read most, which get skimmed, and which searches fail.

You can opt out of Google Analytics across every site you visit by installing Google's official browser add-on: tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.

4. Advertising (Google AdSense & Partners)

HowToType.org uses Google AdSense to serve display advertising. Google and its advertising partners — including approved third-party ad networks and measurement providers — may use cookies, web beacons, and similar technologies to:

  • Decide which ad to show on a page
  • Cap how often you see the same ad
  • Measure whether an ad was viewable and whether it was clicked
  • Detect invalid traffic and prevent fraud
  • Personalise ads based on your previous visits to this or other sites, unless you've opted out

Common cookies in this category include the Google advertising cookie IDE (set on doubleclick.net) and NID (set on google.com). Partner ad networks may set additional cookies under their own domains.

How to Opt Out of Personalised Advertising

You can opt out of personalised advertising by Google and many of its partners — and keep seeing non-personalised ads that fund the site — using any of these tools:

  • Google Ad Settings — google.com/settings/ads. Lets you turn off ad personalisation across Google and see why a particular ad was shown.
  • Your Online Choices (EU / UK) — youronlinechoices.com. Industry opt-out tool covering a large list of advertising vendors.
  • DAA / aboutads.info (US & Canada) — aboutads.info/choices. Equivalent opt-out tool for the Digital Advertising Alliance's member networks.
  • NAI — optout.networkadvertising.org. Opt-out tool for Network Advertising Initiative members.

On mobile devices, opting out of app advertising ID tracking is typically done in the operating system's privacy settings.

Managing Cookies in Your Browser

Every major browser gives you granular control over cookies in its settings — you can block third-party cookies, block cookies on a per-site basis, or clear all existing cookies. Incognito or private browsing modes usually discard cookies set during the session when you close the window.

Blocking advertising and analytics cookies doesn't break HowToType.org's content — guides will still load and render correctly. It may, however, stop ads from showing, which is how the site is funded.

Changes to This Policy

This policy is updated when the site's cookie usage changes or when the law requires. Material changes are reflected by updating the "Last reviewed" date at the top of this page.

Related

See the Privacy Policy for a fuller explanation of what data the site collects and your rights under GDPR and CCPA. Questions can be sent to [email protected].