Cookie Policy

Effective Date: April 30, 2026
Website: beyondbaggage.com

1. Introduction

This Cookie Policy explains how Beyond Baggage (“we”, “us”, or “our”) uses cookies and similar tracking technologies when you visit beyondbaggage.com (the “Site”). It tells you what cookies are, the specific types we place on your device, why we use them, and the choices you have to manage or remove them.

This policy should be read alongside our Privacy Policy, which provides broader information about how we collect and use personal data. By continuing to browse our Site, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Cookie Policy. If you are visiting from the European Union (EU) or European Economic Area (EEA), your continued use of the Site after being shown our cookie consent notice constitutes your consent to non-essential cookies, in accordance with the EU ePrivacy Directive and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

We may update this policy from time to time. The effective date at the top of this page reflects when the most recent revision was made. We encourage you to check back periodically.

2. What Are Cookies?

Cookies are small text files that a website places on your computer, tablet, or mobile device when you visit. They are widely used to make websites work properly, improve performance, and deliver information to the website’s owners.

Cookies do not contain executable code and cannot carry viruses or malware. At their simplest, they are just a short string of characters that identifies your browser to the site. There are two main categories based on how long they last:

  • Session cookies — These exist only for the duration of your browser session. They are deleted automatically when you close your browser tab or window. They are typically used to keep you logged in or to remember items in a shopping cart during a single visit.
  • Persistent cookies — These remain on your device after you close your browser, for a defined period (anything from a few days to several years, depending on the cookie). They are used to remember your preferences on return visits, to track behaviour over time, and to serve more relevant content.

Cookies can also be classified by who sets them:

  • First-party cookies — Set directly by Beyond Baggage when you visit our Site.
  • Third-party cookies — Set by external services that we embed on our pages, such as Google Analytics, YouTube, or affiliate networks. We do not control these cookies; please refer to each third party’s own cookie or privacy policy.

3. Types of Cookies We Use

The table below gives an overview of the cookie categories in use on Beyond Baggage, followed by a detailed explanation of each.

Category Set by Purpose Typical Duration Can be opted out?
Strictly Necessary WordPress / Beyond Baggage Site functionality, security, login Session – 1 year No (required for the site to work)
Functional / Preference WordPress / Beyond Baggage Comment form data, display settings Session – 1 year Yes (with reduced functionality)
Analytics Google Analytics (Google LLC) Traffic analysis, audience insights Up to 2 years Yes
Advertising / Targeting Amazon, Booking.com, Skyscanner, etc. Affiliate tracking, click attribution 24 hours – 90 days Yes (via affiliate network opt-outs)
Social Media / Embedded Content YouTube (Google LLC), Google Maps Video playback, interactive maps Session – 2 years Yes (by blocking embeds in browser)

3.1 Strictly Necessary Cookies

These cookies are essential for the Site to function. Without them, core features — such as page navigation, secure areas, and server-side operations — would not work. Because they are strictly necessary, they cannot be switched off in our systems, and they do not require your consent under most privacy frameworks.

Examples of strictly necessary cookies used by our WordPress installation include:

  • wordpress_logged_in_[hash] — Keeps you authenticated while you are logged in to the WordPress dashboard (relevant to editors and administrators only).
  • wordpress_sec — Security token used to authenticate admin actions and prevent cross-site request forgery (CSRF) attacks.
  • wp-settings-[user] — Stores user interface preferences for the WordPress admin panel.
  • PHPSESSID — A standard PHP session identifier used by the server to maintain session state during your visit.

3.2 Functional / Preference Cookies

Functional cookies allow the Site to remember choices you have made and provide enhanced, more personalised features. For example, they may remember your display preferences, or pre-fill fields in the comment form so you do not have to retype your name and email address each time you leave a comment.

Examples include:

  • comment_author_[hash] — Remembers your name when you submit a comment on a blog post.
  • comment_author_email_[hash] — Remembers your email address for the comment form (not shared with third parties).
  • comment_author_url_[hash] — Remembers a website URL you entered in the comment form.
  • wp_lang — Stores your language preference if a multi-language option is available.

If you block or delete these cookies, you may need to re-enter certain information on each visit, but the Site will still load and operate correctly.

3.3 Analytics Cookies

We use Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google LLC, to help us understand how visitors interact with the Site. Google Analytics collects information such as:

  • Pages visited and time spent on each page
  • How you arrived at the Site (e.g., search engine, direct link, social media)
  • Your approximate geographic location (country or city level — not your precise address)
  • The type of device, browser, and operating system you are using
  • Whether you are a new or returning visitor

This data is aggregated and anonymised; it does not identify you personally. We use it solely to improve our content, understand our audience, and make better decisions about which travel topics to cover. We have enabled IP anonymisation (IP masking) in our Google Analytics configuration, meaning the last portion of your IP address is masked before it is stored.

The primary Google Analytics cookies are:

  • _ga — Distinguishes unique users. Expires after 2 years.
  • _ga_[ID] — Maintains session state for Google Analytics 4. Expires after 2 years.
  • _gid — Distinguishes users. Expires after 24 hours.
  • _gat — Used to throttle request rate to Google’s servers. Expires after 1 minute.

To opt out of Google Analytics tracking across all websites, you can install the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.

3.4 Advertising / Targeting Cookies (Affiliate Links)

Beyond Baggage participates in affiliate programs. This means that when we recommend a product or service — such as a hotel, a flight, or travel gear — and you click our link, a cookie may be placed by the affiliate network or merchant to track whether you subsequently make a purchase. If you do, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

We want to be transparent: we only recommend products and services we genuinely believe are useful to travellers. Affiliate commissions help keep the site running and the content free.

Key affiliate programmes we participate in, and their cookie windows, include:

  • Amazon Associates — Amazon places a cookie that lasts 24 hours from the time of the click. If you add an item to your cart, a 90-day cookie applies to that specific item.
  • Booking.com Affiliate Partner Programme — Booking.com uses a session-based cookie (cleared when you close the browser) plus a persistent attribution cookie of up to 30 days.
  • Skyscanner Partner Programme — Skyscanner places an attribution cookie lasting up to 30 days.
  • Other travel affiliate networks — We may from time to time link to other travel brands (airlines, insurance providers, tour operators) through affiliate networks such as CJ Affiliate, Impact, or Awin. Cookie windows for these partners typically range from 7 to 90 days.

These cookies track clicks and conversions but do not collect sensitive personal information such as payment details. Please refer to each partner’s own privacy and cookie policy (see Section 4) for full details.

3.5 Social Media / Embedded Content Cookies

Some of our posts include embedded content — primarily YouTube videos and Google Maps — to enrich the travel information we provide. When a page containing an embed is loaded, the third-party platform may place cookies on your device, even if you do not interact with the embedded content.

  • YouTube (Google LLC) — When we embed a YouTube video, Google may place cookies to measure video performance, personalise suggestions, and (for signed-in Google users) sync viewing history. YouTube’s “privacy-enhanced mode” is used where possible, but some cookies may still be set. Relevant cookies include VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE, YSC, and yt-remote-device-id.
  • Google Maps — Embedded maps from Google Maps may set cookies related to location preferences and map rendering. These are governed by Google’s Privacy Policy.

We do not have control over the cookies set by these third-party platforms once their embeds are loaded. You can prevent them from loading by using browser extensions that block third-party iframes, or by adjusting your browser’s cookie settings.

4. Third-Party Cookies — Specific Providers

The following third parties may set cookies on your device when you visit Beyond Baggage. We provide links to their privacy and cookie policies so you can review them directly:

We review these partnerships periodically. If we add new affiliate programmes or analytics tools, we will update this policy accordingly.

5. Cookie Opt-Out Links

You have the right to opt out of certain categories of cookies. The following resources allow you to manage your preferences across participating companies:

Please note that opting out of advertising cookies does not remove all advertising; it means you may see less relevant advertisements. Opting out of analytics cookies means we will have less data to understand how to improve your experience on the Site.

6. How to Control Cookies

In addition to the opt-out tools listed above, you can manage cookies directly through your browser settings. All modern browsers allow you to:

  • View cookies that have been set and delete individual cookies or all cookies
  • Block all cookies (including strictly necessary cookies)
  • Block third-party cookies only
  • Enable notifications when a cookie is about to be set
  • Clear all cookies when you close the browser (private/incognito mode does this automatically)

Instructions for managing cookies in major browsers:

  • Google Chrome: chrome://settings/cookies or visit Chrome’s cookie help page.
  • Mozilla Firefox: Firefox cookie management guide
  • Apple Safari (Mac and iOS): Go to Safari > Preferences > Privacy (on Mac), or Settings > Safari > Privacy & Security (on iPhone/iPad).
  • Microsoft Edge: Go to Settings > Privacy, Search, and Services > Cookies and Site Permissions.
  • Opera: Go to Settings > Advanced > Privacy and Security > Site Settings > Cookies.

Please be aware: If you choose to block or delete strictly necessary cookies, parts of Beyond Baggage may stop working correctly. In particular, comment forms may not save your details, and any administrator or editorial login sessions will be affected. Blocking third-party cookies will prevent YouTube embeds, Google Maps, and some affiliate link tracking from functioning as intended, but will not prevent you from reading any of our articles.

7. Consent (EU/EEA Visitors)

If you are accessing Beyond Baggage from within the European Union, European Economic Area, or the United Kingdom, the following applies to you:

Under the EU ePrivacy Directive (the “Cookie Law”) and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), we are required to obtain your consent before placing any non-essential cookies on your device. Strictly necessary cookies (see Section 3.1) are exempt from this requirement, as they are required for the fundamental operation of the Site.

When you first visit beyondbaggage.com, you will be presented with a cookie consent notice. You may choose to:

  • Accept all cookies — including analytics, functional, and affiliate tracking cookies.
  • Reject non-essential cookies — only strictly necessary cookies will be placed.
  • Customise your preferences — select which categories of cookies you accept.

You can withdraw or change your consent at any time by clearing your cookies in your browser and revisiting the Site, at which point the consent notice will be shown again.

We do not currently use an advertising network (such as Mediavine, AdSense, or similar). If we introduce display advertising in the future, we will update this policy and our consent mechanism accordingly before placing any new advertising cookies.

The legal basis for placing strictly necessary cookies is our legitimate interest in operating a functional website. The legal basis for analytics, functional, and affiliate cookies is your consent.

8. Changes to This Cookie Policy

We reserve the right to update or modify this Cookie Policy at any time to reflect changes in the cookies we use, changes in applicable law, or changes to the services provided by our third-party partners. When we make material changes, we will update the Effective Date at the top of this page.

We encourage you to review this Cookie Policy periodically to stay informed about how we are using cookies. Your continued use of Beyond Baggage after any changes to this policy constitutes your acceptance of the updated terms. If the changes are significant, we may provide a more prominent notice on the Site.

Previous versions of this policy are available on request via our contact form.

9. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Cookie Policy, or if you would like to exercise any of your rights in relation to the cookies we use, please get in touch with us through our contact form at beyondbaggage.com/contact-us/.

We will do our best to respond to all enquiries within 30 days. For EU/EEA residents, if you are not satisfied with our response, you have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection supervisory authority.

This Cookie Policy was last updated on April 30, 2026.