Postcrossing Cookie Policy

What are “cookies”?

A cookie is a small text file that a website can save on your device when you visit it. It enables websites to remember your actions and preferences (such as login and other configuration preferences) over a period of time, so that you don’t have to keep re-entering them whenever you come back to the site or browse from one page to another.

Cookies may be classified by how long they are stored on your device:

Session cookies

Such cookies are erased when your web browser is closed. A common example is a cookie that allows you to log in to your account.

Persistent cookies

These cookies are stored by your web browser on your device for a given period of time. After this period, your browser removes them.

They can also be classified according to the domain to which they belong:

First-party cookies

These are set by the domain of the website you are visiting.

Third-party cookies

These are cookies set by a different domain than the one you are visiting. These are usually cookies used by third-party services we use on our website.

What types of cookies do we use?

The cookies we use on our website can be classified in the following groups:

Strictly necessary cookies

These are first-party session cookies which allow you to log in and access protected parts of our website, usually after you have authenticated. Without these cookies, you won’t be able to use our website as expected.

Functionality cookies

These are first-party persistent cookies used to remember some of your user-interface preferences so that you don’t need to specify them every time. For example, we may set a cookie with your preferred selection of a checkbox for the next time you use it. These cookies are not strictly necessary but help you have a smoother experience on the website.

Analytics cookies

These types of cookies allow us to obtain anonymous statistical information about the way the website is used so that we can make improvements to it. To do this, we use the Google Analytics service provided by Google Inc., which collects information about the website traffic and provides us with reports that allow us to analyze how our website is used and to make improvements. Google Analytics makes use of persistent first-party cookies. We configure this service so that your IP address is always anonymized by being truncated before it is stored. The Privacy Policy of Google Analytics is available on its website.

Advertising cookies

We display advertising banners (ads) to support this website. To display these ads, we use services of third-party providers, such as Google Ad Manager and Google AdSense, that set third-party session and/or persistent cookies which may be used to:

• avoid or limit showing ads that you have already seen,
• provide us with reports on advertising performance to improve the website’s ad setup,
• combat fraud and abuse, and/or
• personalize ads based on your interests and visits to our website and other websites you have visited previously. Where required, we will first request your consent to show this type of ad and you can withdraw your consent at any time.

You can learn how Google manages data in its ads products on Google’s Business Data Responsibility site and on this page explaining how Google uses information from sites and apps that use its services.

How can I manage, block or remove cookies?

You can control and/or remove cookies on your device at any time. If you so wish, you can delete all cookies that are already on your computer. It’s also possible to configure most browsers to prevent them from being accepted and/or use specific software to block them. Please note, however, that without cookies, your experience may be affected, and some cookie-dependent features may not work as expected.

It is also possible to opt out of cookies used by the following services:

Analytics cookies

You can opt out of Google Analytics using a browser opt-out add-on for that purpose.

Advertising cookies

Where required, if you’ve given us consent to show you personalized ads, we will provide you with information on how to easily withdraw your consent at any time. You can also opt out of Google's personalized advertising cookies by visiting the Ads Settings page. It's also possible to opt out of other third-party vendors' use of cookies for personalized advertising by visiting aboutads.info/choices.