What a cookie is
A cookie is a small text file that a site stores on your browser. We also treat similar storage (local storage used for the same job) the same way in this policy. Some cookies are set by us. Some are set by a company whose file your browser loads, such as a font.
The choice we ask you to make
When you arrive, a bar at the bottom of the page asks you to accept all, reject optional items, or manage them one by one. Nothing optional is switched on beforehand. Closing the bar without choosing does not count as a yes, and we do not set the choice cookie until you press a button.
Reject optional means we keep only the necessary cookies described below. Google Fonts are not loaded, so the pages use Arial. We do not load an analytics or advertising tag.
Accept all means you allow functional, analytics and marketing as described below. Today, analytics and marketing still load nothing, because we have not installed those tags. Your permission is recorded so that if we add one later, it runs only for people who allowed that category.
Manage lets you tick functional, analytics and marketing separately. Necessary stays on, because the site cannot remember your decision, or keep you signed in, without it.
Open the bar again from Cookie settings in the footer. The choice lasts 180 days. After that we ask again. You can also clear cookies in the browser, which forgets the choice and brings the bar back.
What we use
| Name | Who sets it | Purpose | How long | Category |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ch_consent | Coolhost | Stores the categories you allowed or refused, and the time you chose. Without it we would ask on every page, and we could not honour a refusal. | 180 days | Necessary |
| coolhost_session | Coolhost, on my.coolhost.co.za | Keeps you signed in to the client area. HttpOnly, so page scripts cannot read it. | 14 days of inactivity, or until you sign out | Necessary |
| Cloudflare cookies such as __cf_bm | Cloudflare, when the site is served through Cloudflare | Distinguishes a person from an automated attack. We do not use them for advertising. | Usually under a day | Necessary |
| Google Fonts | Google, only after you allow functional | Downloads the Plus Jakarta Sans typeface. Google receives your IP address as part of that request. If you refuse, we do not make the request. | Set by Google for the font file | Functional |
| Jotform support chat | Jotform, only after you allow functional | Loads the chat button. Jotform receives your IP address and the page address, and may set its own cookie once the chat loads. If you refuse, the script is not requested. | Set by Jotform after the chat loads | Functional |
| Analytics | Nobody at present | Reserved. A measurement cookie will run only if this category is on. | Not used | Analytics |
| Marketing | Nobody at present | Reserved. An advertising tag will run only if this category is on. Links to our TikTok or X profiles do not set a cookie by themselves. | Not used | Marketing |
How the site enforces it
Pages on coolhost.co.za do not request Google Fonts or the Jotform chat until ch_consent records functional as allowed. The script tags are not in the page until then. The client area at my.coolhost.co.za uses a font file we host ourselves, so that site does not call Google for the typeface, and it does not load the marketing-site chat. Any future analytics or marketing script has to check CoolhostConsent.allows before it runs. A script that cannot do that does not get added.
The necessary cookies are not a request for consent. We set the session cookie when you sign in, because you cannot use the client area without it. We set ch_consent when you answer the bar, because that is how a refusal is stored.
Browser controls
Every major browser lets you block or delete cookies. If you block all cookies, the client area will not keep you signed in, and the choice bar will return on each visit. Private browsing usually drops the cookies when you close the window.
Questions: [email protected] with the subject “Cookies”.