Cookies & Privacy
Trying to make a boring topic less boring.
Don't sue me.
(No easter eggs here, though. I really do not want to be sued.)
What Are Cookies?
Basically, Cookies are tiny textfiles that can be stored in your browser. They are mostly talked about in a webtracking context these days, but in fact, Cookies are used for a wide variety of website functions beyond tracking and marketing.
So, for example: Did you ever go to your favorite online shop and your cart from last time was still there, ready to check out? How convenient, right? This is something cookies can do. As well as keeping you logged in on a specific website. Or saving your language or display preferences.
And yes, Cookies also serve Tracking and Marketing purposes. So if you ever get haunted by this product you once looked at but never intended to buy - or even already bought somewhere else and now regret it because you really didn't need it, this is mostly done with cookies, too. Chances are, your tiny impulse buy won't follow you in ads anymore as soon as you clear your cookies.
How do we use Cookies and Tracking at miralytics?
Oh, that's easy.
I don't track anything.
Nope, not even sneakily hidden on the Server Side.
That might sound weird, given that you're reading a Tracking Blog, right? So, let me give you a bit of context: Do you know that feel when you're posting a Story on Instagram? Or spend hours creating the perfect TikTok? Or even just editing the wrinkles out of your next photo post? (which is something you don't need to do at all, by the way. You're beautiful!)
After posting, you check Instagram every other minute. Because you need to know how many views and likes and shares you've got. And then a couple hours later you end up deleting the post altogether. Or maybe that's just me.
However, I decided to not get too caught up in the numbers here, so I ditched Tracking altogether. Partly because I made a full-on custom design needing a fully customized template for the most boring page on the whole Website. This took additional hours to code and I really don't even want to see how few people even got to see it.
So. I can't see you. At all.
Which is why I asked you to shoot me a message for like a billion times on this Website. And I'll ask again: If you like what you see - and even more so, if you don't - let me know! Because the numbers won't show. Because we're not using any numbers here.
What are cookies used for?
Traditionally, there are three categories of cookie usage:
Essential cookies
Essential cookies, often called important or functional cookies, are used for the functionality of the website. For example, they may store whether you're logged into a website or online shop, your preferred language setting, or whether you've accepted advertising cookies or not.
Analytics/Tracking cookies
These usually refer to cookies used to track and analyze user behavior on the website. The most commonly used tool for this is Google Analytics, but Facebook, Google Ads, and most other third-party tools also use cookies to measure success.
Although "tracking user behavior on the website" may sound creepy, it's not as bad as it seems. Even if you accept analytics cookies, no one knows that "Jane Doe from Frankfurt" has just bought another pair of shoes for 200 euros, even though her last electricity bill is still unpaid. Analytics cookies only store anonymized user IDs, like this example: 870390111.1590473511
Marketing/advertising cookies
The most common marketing cookie is the retargeting cookie, used by social networks, Google Ads, and almost all well-known advertising platforms. Advertising cookies are responsible for showing you the same product over and over after you've looked at it online.
Is my personal data being shared through cookies?
I've thought a lot about how to answer this question. Not gonna lie: Theoretically, any kind of data can be stored in a cookie and shared from there. Yes, there are definitely some bad apples out there who could misuse your data if they had the chance.
But between us, there are smarter ways to store and share data unnoticed than to put it in a cookie that the user can easily see and delete. As long as you stay on relatively reputable websites, the chances of anyone misusing your personal data via cookies are minimal.
Which cookies does miralytics use?
My rule of thumb for tracking is "as much as necessary, as little as possible." I can promise that there will never be any retargeting cookies or annoying ads that follow you around.
Let's quickly skip to the not-so-fun legal part:
General Information
The following information provides a simple overview of what happens to your personal data when you visit our website. Personal data is any data that can be used to personally identify you.
Responsible Party
miralytics & friends UG
Registry Court: Amtsgericht Aschaffenburg
Managing Director: Mira Rodrigues
Phone: 0163-8511975
E-Mail: mira@miralytics.io
Revocation of Consent
Many data processing operations are only possible with your explicit consent. You can revoke consent at any time with an informal email to us. The legality of data processing carried out before revocation remains unaffected.
Right to Complain
In the event of data protection violations, the data subject has the right to lodge a complaint with the competent supervisory authority.
Right to Data Portability
You have the right to have data that we process automatically on the basis of your consent or in performance of a contract handed over to you or to a third party in a common, machine-readable format.
SSL/TLS Encryption
This site uses SSL/TLS encryption for security purposes and to protect the transmission of confidential content. You can recognize an encrypted connection by the fact that the address line of the browser changes from "http://" to "https://" and by the lock symbol in your browser line.
Data Protection Officer
Mira Rodrigues
Phone: 0163-8511975
E-Mail: mira@miralytics.io
Server Log Files
The provider of these pages automatically collects and stores information in server log files that your browser automatically transmits. These are:
- Browser type and version
- Operating system
- Referrer URL
- Hostname of the accessing computer
- Time of the server request
- IP address
This data is not merged with other data sources. The basis for data processing is Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR.
Contact Form
If you send us inquiries via the contact form, your details from the inquiry form, including the contact data you provided, will be stored for the purpose of processing the inquiry and for follow-up questions. We will not share this data without your consent. Processing is based on your consent (Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR). You can revoke this consent at any time.
Analytics Tools
We don't use any. If we did, it would probably be Google Analytics 4, Microsoft Clarity, or Plausible Analytics. But we don't.
Newsletter
If you would like to receive the newsletter offered on the website, we require an email address and information that allows us to verify that you are the owner of the specified email address and agree to receive the newsletter. Processing is based solely on your consent (Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR). You can revoke consent at any time, for example via the "unsubscribe" link in the newsletter.
Information, Blocking, Deletion
You have the right at any time to free information about your stored personal data, its origin and recipients, and the purpose of data processing, and if applicable, the right to correction, blocking, or deletion of this data. You can contact us at any time using the address given in the imprint for this and other questions on the subject of personal data.
Now to the actual fun cookie part
Starting with a tiny confession: I don't even like Cookies anymore. My grandma bakes around 100 different recipes each christmas and honestly, that's just too much. Nowadays, I'm more of a sugar free banana bread kind of girl. If I were to bake Cookies, I'd always go for these simple Chocolate Chip Cookies, though.
Simple Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 200 g flour
- 40 g sugar
- 90 g (vegan) butter
- 8 g (1.5 tsp) vanilla sugar
- 5 g (1 tsp) baking powder
- 2 tbsp applesauce
- 150 g Chocolate Chips
- 1 pinch of salt
Mix everything together until a dough forms and everything is well combined. Form your cookies and put them on a lined baking tray. Bake for 12-15 minutes at 180°C.
This is me, thinking about how I didn't stick to the rules, standards and processes of privacy - in Germany!
