As part of a Google-owned platform, this site uses cookies from Google to deliver its services and analyse traffic. Your IP address and user agent will be shared with Google, together with performance and security metrics, to ensure quality of service, generate usage statistics and to detect and address abuse. This site uses the bare minimum of cookies that it's possible to use on Google's Blogger platform.
However, you are not obliged to accept cookies, and the COOKIE-RELATED PRIVACY ADVICE section lower down this page gives details of how you can reliably and universally opt out of cookie-tracking - across the entire Web.
COOKIES
Cookies are text files or (more likely in the 2020s) database entires, containing small pieces of information from a website. They are stored on, and read from your computer or device.
COOKIE POLICY FOR THIS BLOG
This blog is hosted on Google's Blogger (.blogspot) platform, which falls under Google's cookie policy, accessible via the link below…
The Administrator of this blog, as a separate entity, does not collect, or attempt to collect, any personally identifying information relating to blog visitors who make no effort to specifically provide it. This applies across all devices.
COOKIE-RELATED PRIVACY ADVICE
You are not obliged to accept cookies, and you can still use this site if you choose to block them. While the advertising industry will invariably try to focus you on accepting or declining cookies one site at a time, nearly all browsers allow you to disable cookies universally. If you disable cookies universally in your browser, websites will not be able to read or set them, regardless of what their consent mechanisms tell you - and regardless of whether or not you hit Accept on their consent banner.
You can find out how to block cookies universally in your particular browser here. The linked site will attempt to auto-detect your browser and present relevant instructions, but check that it's detected correctly. If not, you can simply navigate to the correct page. You'll get options to block either third-party cookies, or all cookies.
SHOULD I BLOCK ALL COOKIES OR JUST THIRD-PARTY COOKIES?
Third-party cookies are the type that data companies use to tail you around the Web. They're by far the most intrusive type of cookie. Blocking them universally is a one-step operation. Once it's done, it's done. It will markedly improve your privacy, and for most people it has little or no impact on the general Web experience. I would highly recommend it.
Blocking all cookies means you're also blocking first-party cookies. First-party cookies are used for both functionality and tracking, but traditionally they can only be read by their website of origin. So a first-party cookie could tell this website that you visited this website before, but not that you visited any other websites. The field of vision is narrow compared with third-party cookies, but individual sites can still track your journey from page to page, and discover when and how often you return.
As a caveat, you should note that on the modern Web, scripting is being used to evade some of the above restrictions. You can find out more about such practises here, and also find some advice on how to combat the problem. The administrator of this blog does not use said technologies, but it's worth being aware that many admins do, and that the core of tracking is now rapidly shifting towards JavaScript-based tools rather than text cookies.
Blocking all cookies is simple in itself. But because first-party cookies are needed for functionality, blocking them can cause website functions to fail. This particularly affects functions that need to remember something from one page to the next - such as logins, multi-page forms, etc.
There are two ways to deal with this problem if you do want to block all cookies…
- The harder way: set exceptions for the sites you log into. Most browsers will allow you to do this, by typing domain URLs into an exceptions panel in the Privacy > Cookies section of the browser settings. When you set exceptions, only the domain URLs you manually add will be able to use cookies. Every other site's cookies remain blocked.
- The easier way: use a separate browser for general browsing, when you know you won't be logging into any sites or filling in forms. For example, if you currently use Google Chrome, and have all your logins set up in that browser, download another browser of your choice, set your new browser to block all cookies, and use that for general surfing. You can then visit all the sites you don't need to log into - like this one - without worrying about cookies. You will still see consent forms, but you can just click Accept to clear them. The sites will attempt to drop or read cookies, but the browser will block their access to the cookie jar.
When you universally block cookies in your browser, you have the added advantage of also blocking some 'similar technologies', such as service workers, database storage and local storage. And you also prevent third-parties from using first-party cookies to circumvent a third-party cookie block.
If you're serious about preserving your privacy, it's worth reading the Privacy Guide on this blog. The guide explores ways to maintain a good standard of online privacy without going to extremes. It advocates making "big picture" changes, rather than the superficial changes provided by individual consent form opt-outs.
ANALYTICS
As of 4 November 2021, this blog no longer uses Google Analytics to measure visitor stats.
However, the Blogger platform still natively delivers its own general usage statistics to the Administrator. The statistics delivered do not pinpoint detailed information such as a visitor's specific location (beyond their country), visit times or page view durations, and cannot realistically be used by the Administrator to identify visitors or micro-analyse their behaviour.
JAVASCRIPT
This blog does use JavaScript for visitors who have it enabled, but at the time of this update on 22 November 2022, JavaScript is not a requirement and the blog can still be accessed and read without it. I, the Administrator, will do everything I can to preserve access for visitors who disable JavaScript. Indeed, I have shunned the Blogger platform's newer, JavaScript-dependent design themes, and re-developed a very old theme in order to maintain JavaScript-free compatibility for the privacy-conscious people who require it. However, since I don't control the platform, it's possible that the availability of JavaScript-free pages could be removed at a higher level in the future. If that is the case, I will update this notice as soon as I become aware of the change.
ADVERTISING AND COOKIES
This blog no longer displays Google adverts. Although non-personalised (but not personalised) ads were displayed experimentally for intermittent periods on this blog, Google's disrespectful decision to send bid requests to third parties even for non-personalised ads from January 2022, has rendered the entire Google ad programme unsuitable for this blog. I thus have no further plans to run Google ads on Popzazzle, or any other ad type associated with user-tracking.
OTHER COOKIES
Twitter widgets are no longer used on this blog. This is an update to previous notices.
AddtoAny sharing facilities are no longer incorporated into this site. This is an update to previous notices.
EXTERNAL CONTENT
This blog incorporates hyperlinks, both text-based and pictorial, to other websites. The Administrator of this blog accepts no responsibility for content you may find on the third-party sites you access via hyperlinks. Separate sites will also have their own privacy policies, which are a separate agreement between you and them, and are not covered in this notice.
CONTACT
The Contact Page on this blog no longer has a direct contact function, and anyone wishing to get in touch with the administrator should go via the Contact Form on Tape Tardis. This is an update to previous notices.
PRIVACY STATEMENT
The Administrator of this blog does not collect any personal information from or about visitors who do not deliberately provide personal information. If visitors do deliberately provide personal information, it is handled in accordance with GDPR - strictly confined to the exact purpose for which it is interpreted to have been provided, and only retained for as long as it takes to fulfil that purpose.
Last updated 22 November 2022.