Cookie Policy

This cookie policy explains which cookies and similar technologies SJCE Mysore (sjcemysore.org) uses, why we use them and how you can control them. We use very few cookies. Most are strictly necessary for logging in, the WooCommerce cart, website security and remembering your cookie choice. There are no advertising cookies, and no analytics run by default. SJCE Mysore is an independent site operated by SJCE Mysore (sjcemysore.org) and is not affiliated with SJCE, JSS Science and Technology University or JSS Mahavidyapeetha.

What cookies and similar technologies are

A cookie is a small text file that a website saves in your browser. The next time your browser asks that site for a page, it sends the cookie back. This lets the site remember things such as “this visitor is logged in” or “this visitor has two items in the cart”. Session cookies are deleted when you close your browser. Persistent cookies stay until they expire or you delete them. First-party cookies are set by the site you are visiting. Third-party cookies are set by other domains, such as advertising networks. SJCE Mysore sets only first-party cookies.

Local storage (the browser’s localStorage) is a similar technology. It lets a page store small pieces of information on your device. Unlike cookies, it is not sent to the server with each request. Our theme uses it for display preferences, as explained below.

Why we ask for consent

Several laws govern cookies:

• In the EU, the ePrivacy Directive (2002/58/EC), read with the GDPR, requires consent before non-essential cookies are stored.
• In the UK, the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR) and the UK GDPR apply.
• In India, the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 requires that consent to process personal data be free, specific, informed, unconditional and unambiguous, and that it can be withdrawn as easily as it was given.
• In California, the CCPA/CPRA gives residents rights over the “sale” and “sharing” of personal information. We do neither.

Strictly necessary cookies are exempt from consent under the EU and UK rules because the site cannot provide the service you asked for without them. We still list them here so that you know exactly what is stored.

Categories we use

• Strictly necessary: required for core functions such as logging in, the shopping cart, checkout, security and storing your consent choice. These cannot be switched off in the banner, but you can block them in your browser. If you do, parts of the site will stop working.
• Functional (only if enabled): features such as WooCommerce’s optional order-attribution tracking. These are not active unless we turn them on, and if we do they are categorised in CookieYes so that you can refuse them.
• Analytics: none at present. If we enable an analytics tool in future, its cookies will be placed only after you accept “Analytics” in the CookieYes banner.
• Advertising and marketing: none. We do not use advertising cookies and do not plan to.

Detailed list of cookies

The names below come from the documentation of each software provider. In names containing “[hash]” or “[UID]”, that part is replaced by a random string or a user ID. Durations are approximate and may change when the software is updated. We review this list regularly.

WordPress (core)

Cookie	Purpose	Duration	Category
wordpress_test_cookie	Checks whether your browser accepts cookies before login	Session	Strictly necessary
wordpress_[hash]	Stores authentication details after login. Used only in the admin area.	Session, or 14 days if “Remember me” is ticked	Strictly necessary
wordpress_sec_[hash]	Secure (HTTPS) version of the authentication cookie	Session, or 14 days if “Remember me” is ticked	Strictly necessary
wordpress_logged_in_[hash]	Shows that you are logged in and who you are, for example on My Account pages	Session, or 14 days if “Remember me” is ticked	Strictly necessary
wp-settings-[UID] and wp-settings-time-[UID]	Remember dashboard layout preferences for logged-in users	1 year	Strictly necessary (logged-in users only)
wp_lang	Remembers the language chosen on the login screen	Session	Strictly necessary
comment_author_[hash], comment_author_email_[hash], comment_author_url_[hash]	Remember your name, email and website for future comments. Set only if comments are open and you tick “save my details”.	About 1 year	Functional (opt-in)

WooCommerce (shop, cart and checkout)

Cookie	Purpose	Duration	Category
woocommerce_cart_hash	Helps WooCommerce tell when the cart contents change	Session	Strictly necessary
woocommerce_items_in_cart	Helps WooCommerce tell when the cart contents change	Session	Strictly necessary
wp_woocommerce_session_[hash]	Holds a unique code for each customer so the cart and checkout data can be found in the database	2 days	Strictly necessary
woocommerce_recently_viewed	Powers the “recently viewed products” widget, if it is used	Session	Functional
store_notice[notice id]	Remembers that you dismissed the store notice banner	Session	Functional
sbjs_migrations, sbjs_current_add, sbjs_first_add, sbjs_current, sbjs_first, sbjs_udata, sbjs_session	WooCommerce “Order Attribution” feature: records how a visitor arrived (for example, a referring website) so it can be attached to an order. Set only if this feature is enabled. When enabled, it is treated as non-essential and depends on your consent.	Session	Analytics (only if enabled)

WooCommerce documents its storefront cookies as not storing personal information directly. The session cookie links your browser to cart data held on our server.

CookieYes (consent management)

Cookie	Purpose	Duration	Category
cookieyes-consent	Stores your consent choices for each cookie category, the time you made them and the policy version, so the banner does not reappear on every page	1 year	Strictly necessary

Older versions of the CookieYes software also used cookies named “cky-consent” and “cky-action”. If you see them in your browser, they do the same job: they record your consent choice.

Wordfence (security firewall)

Cookie	Purpose	Duration	Category
wfwaf-authcookie-[hash]	Lets the firewall recognise logged-in users before WordPress loads, so it can apply the right access rules and block unauthorised access to protected areas	12 hours	Strictly necessary (logged-in users only)
wf_loginalerted_[hash]	Lets the site alert its administrators when an administrator logs in from a new device or location	1 year	Strictly necessary (administrators only)
wfCBLBypass	Lets an authorised person bypass country blocking through a secret URL. Used only if that feature is configured.	Varies (set by site settings)	Strictly necessary (rare)

Ordinary readers who never log in will usually see only the CookieYes consent cookie and, if they use the shop, the WooCommerce cart cookies.

Local storage used by our theme

Our theme offers reader conveniences that are saved in your browser’s localStorage:

Item	What it stores	Sent to our server?	How long
Dark mode preference	Whether you chose the light or dark colour scheme	No	Until you clear site data
Text size preference	The font size you chose with the text size controls	No	Until you clear site data
Reading list	The articles you bookmarked to read later	No	Until you remove them or clear site data

These items contain no personal identifiers, and only your own browser can read them. They make the site work the way you asked. They do not track you, so we treat them as strictly necessary for the features you choose to use.

What we do not use

• No Google Analytics, Meta Pixel, LinkedIn Insight Tag or similar trackers.
• No advertising networks or retargeting.
• No embedded social-media “like” or “share” buttons that load third-party scripts.
• No Google Fonts, Font Awesome CDN or other externally hosted assets. Fonts, icons, scripts and images, including Creative Commons images originally from Wikimedia Commons, are served from our own server.
• No third-party CAPTCHA on the contact form. We use an invisible honeypot field instead.
• No fingerprinting techniques.

Payment gateways may set their own cookies on their own pages during checkout, for fraud prevention and to complete the payment. Those cookies are controlled by the gateway and covered by its own cookie and privacy policy.

If we enable analytics in future

We may later want simple, aggregate statistics, such as which guides readers find useful. If we enable an analytics tool:

1. it will be added to the “Analytics” category in CookieYes and blocked until you click “Accept” or enable that category;
2. this policy and our Privacy Policy will be updated first, with the tool’s name, cookies and data retention;
3. we will prefer privacy-friendly configurations, such as IP anonymisation and no cross-site tracking, and we will never use analytics data for advertising.

How to manage your choices

Through our consent banner

When you first visit, the CookieYes banner lets you Accept all, Reject all or Customise by category. Rejecting is as easy as accepting. To change your choice later, click the “Cookie settings” link in the site footer, or the floating consent button if one is shown. The banner reopens, and your new choice takes effect immediately. Cookies from a category you withdraw from are not set again. Use your browser to delete any that were already set.

Through your browser

All modern browsers let you view, block and delete cookies and site data. Look under the privacy or site-settings section of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge or your mobile browser. You can also delete our site data on its own to reset dark mode, text size and reading-list items. If you block strictly necessary cookies, you will not be able to log in, keep items in your cart or complete checkout.

Global Privacy Control and Do Not Track

Because we do not sell or share personal information or use tracking cookies, there is nothing for these signals to turn off today. If we ever introduce such cookies, we will treat a Global Privacy Control signal as an opt-out where the law requires it.

Changes to this cookie policy

Plugins and WordPress itself change over time, so we review this list whenever we add, remove or update a plugin, and at least once a year. Each time, we update the “last updated” date. If we add any non-essential cookie, CookieYes will ask for your consent again.

Contact

For questions about cookies or this policy, email hello@sjcemysore.org, write to SJCE Mysore (sjcemysore.org), Mysuru, Karnataka, India, or use our contact page. For details of how we handle personal data generally, see the Privacy Policy.