Cookie Policy
Last updated: January 2025
About This Cookie Policy
This Cookie Policy explains how Wholefoodscience ("we," "us," "our," or "Company") uses cookies and similar tracking technologies on our website located at wholefoodscience.info ("Site"). We are committed to transparency about our use of cookies and respecting your privacy choices.
This policy applies to all visitors of our Site, whether you are a casual reader, regular contributor, or research participant. By continuing to browse our Site, you consent to our use of cookies as described in this policy.
The information on this site is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.
What Are Cookies?
Cookies are small text files stored on your device (computer, tablet, or smartphone) when you visit a website. They contain information that is sent back to the website on subsequent visits, allowing the site to recognize your device and remember information about your browsing activity.
Key characteristics: Cookies are harmless files containing no executable code. They cannot install malware or viruses on your device. You have full control over cookie settings through your browser preferences.
Types of Cookies We Use
1. Essential Cookies (Strictly Necessary)
These cookies are necessary for the basic functioning of our Site. They enable core features like navigation, page loading, and access to secure areas. Without these cookies, our Site cannot operate properly.
Examples: Session tokens, security cookies, CSRF protection tokens, user authentication credentials.
2. Performance & Analytics Cookies
These cookies help us understand how visitors use our Site. They collect anonymized data about page views, article engagement, and user behavior patterns. This information allows us to improve our content, navigation, and overall user experience.
Examples: Google Analytics cookies, page view trackers, scroll depth monitors, article interaction metrics.
3. Functional Cookies
These cookies remember your preferences and settings to enhance your experience. They enable personalized features such as language selection, reading history preferences, and layout customization.
Examples: Language preference cookies, display theme selection, content filtering preferences, bookmarked articles list.
4. Marketing & Targeting Cookies
These cookies track your interests and browsing patterns to deliver relevant content recommendations. They help us understand which topics and articles resonate most with our audience.
Examples: Content recommendation engines, topic interest tracking, newsletter preference cookies.
How We Use Cookies
- • Site functionality: Enabling login systems, maintaining sessions, and ensuring proper page rendering across devices.
- • Content improvement: Analyzing which articles and topics generate the most engagement to improve our editorial decisions.
- • User experience: Remembering your reading preferences, bookmarks, and content filtering choices.
- • Content recommendations: Suggesting relevant articles based on your browsing history and stated interests.
- • Security & fraud prevention: Protecting against suspicious activity and unauthorized access.
- • Research analytics: Understanding general usage patterns to support evidence-based editorial planning.
Third-Party Cookies
Our Site may use cookies placed by third-party service providers who assist us with analytics, content delivery, and security. These third parties include:
- Google Analytics: For anonymized traffic analysis and user behavior insights
- Content Delivery Networks (CDN): For optimizing content delivery and performance
- Security providers: For threat detection and protection against malicious activity
These third parties have their own privacy policies governing their cookie use. We recommend reviewing their policies if you wish to learn more about their specific practices.
Managing Your Cookie Preferences
Browser Cookie Controls
You can manage cookies directly through your web browser. Most browsers allow you to refuse cookies or alert you when cookies are being sent. Instructions for popular browsers:
Chrome: Settings > Privacy and security > Cookies and other site data
Firefox: Preferences > Privacy & Security > Cookies and Site Data
Safari: Preferences > Privacy > Manage website data
Edge: Settings > Privacy, search, and services > Cookies and other site permissions
Our Cookie Consent Tool
When you first visit our Site, you'll see a cookie consent banner. This tool allows you to:
- • Accept all cookies
- • Reject non-essential cookies
- • Customize your cookie preferences by category
- • Change preferences at any time via our settings panel
Note: Disabling essential cookies may affect Site functionality and prevent you from accessing certain features. We recommend keeping essential cookies enabled for optimal experience.
Complete Cookie List
Below is a detailed list of all cookies used on wholefoodscience.info:
| Cookie Name | Type | Purpose | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| PHPSESSID | Essential | Session management and user authentication | Session |
| csrf_token | Essential | CSRF protection for form submissions | Session |
| _ga | Analytics | Google Analytics - unique visitor identification | 2 years |
| _ga_* | Analytics | Google Analytics - session tracking | 2 years |
| _gid | Analytics | Google Analytics - session identification | 24 hours |
| _gat | Analytics | Google Analytics - request throttling | 1 minute |
| language_pref | Functional | User language preference (English) | 1 year |
| theme_mode | Functional | Display theme preference (light/dark mode) | 1 year |
| content_bookmarks | Functional | Saved articles and bookmarks | 1 year |
| reading_history | Functional | Article browsing history for recommendations | 90 days |
| newsletter_consent | Functional | Newsletter subscription preferences | 2 years |
| content_interests | Marketing | Topic interest tracking for personalization | 6 months |
| recommended_topics | Marketing | Content recommendation engine preferences | 6 months |
| cookie_consent | Essential | Cookie consent preferences and choices | 1 year |
This list is updated periodically as we add or modify cookies. Last reviewed: January 2025.
Data Retention & Deletion
We retain cookie data only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this policy. You can delete cookies from your device at any time:
- • Manual deletion: Clear your browser cache and cookies through your browser settings
- • Browser exit: Most session cookies are automatically deleted when you close your browser
- • Cookie tool: Use our consent management tool to delete preference cookies at any time
- • Opt-out: Request data deletion by contacting us via the email address below
International Compliance
Our cookie practices comply with major international privacy regulations:
GDPR (EU): We obtain explicit consent for non-essential cookies and provide transparent cookie information to EU residents.
CCPA (California): We respect user privacy rights and provide cookie opt-out mechanisms for California residents.
LGPD (Brazil): We comply with Brazilian data protection requirements for cookie usage and user consent.
Questions About Our Cookie Policy?
If you have questions about our cookie practices, or if you'd like to exercise your privacy rights, please contact our editorial team:
Frequently Asked Questions
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