Legal

Cookie Policy

This policy explains what cookies are, which ones Aestiora uses, why we use them, and how you can control or opt out of them at any time.

The Basics

What Are Cookies?

Cookies are small text files that a website stores on your device when you visit. They allow the site to remember information about your visit — such as your preferred settings or which pages you have viewed — so it can function correctly and provide a better experience on return visits.

Cookies are not programs, cannot carry viruses, and cannot access other files on your device. They are read only by the website or service that set them. Some cookies are deleted when you close your browser (session cookies); others remain on your device for a set period (persistent cookies).

First-Party Cookies

Set directly by Aestiora (aestiora.com). Used for site functionality and remembering your preferences. Only readable by us.

Third-Party Cookies

Set by external services — Google Analytics and Google AdSense. These services operate under their own privacy policies and may collect data independently.

You Are in Control

You can manage, block, or delete cookies at any time via your browser or the opt-out tools in this policy. Only strictly necessary cookies cannot be turned off.

Cookie Categories

Cookies We Use

We use four categories of cookies. Each category below includes a description of its purpose and a table of the specific cookies involved, along with how long they persist on your device.

Strictly Necessary

Always Active — Cannot Be Disabled

These cookies are essential for the website to function and cannot be switched off. They are set in response to your actions — such as loading a page or initiating a download — and do not store personally identifiable information. Without these cookies, core parts of the site will not work correctly.

Cookie Name	Set By	Purpose	Duration
__session	Aestiora	Maintains your session state across page requests (e.g., active filters, download state)	Session
__csrf_token	Aestiora	Security token preventing cross-site request forgery attacks	Session
__cf_bm	Cloudflare	Bot management — distinguishes legitimate visitors from automated traffic to protect platform availability	30 minutes

Analytics

Google Analytics — Understand How the Site Is Used

We use Google Analytics (Google LLC, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA) to collect anonymized data on how visitors interact with the platform — pages visited, session duration, traffic sources, and device types. This helps us diagnose errors and improve the overall experience.

We have enabled IP anonymization, meaning your IP address is truncated before storage. Data collected may be transferred to Google's servers in the US and other countries, processed under the Google Privacy Policy and a Data Processing Agreement with Aestiora. You can opt out at any time — see Section 2 below.

Cookie Name	Set By	Purpose	Duration
_ga	Google Analytics	Registers a unique identifier to generate statistical data on how you use the site	2 years
_ga_<ID>	Google Analytics	Used by GA4 to persist session state and count page views for a specific property	2 years
_gid	Google Analytics	Registers a unique identifier for your session, distinguishing users within a 24-hour window	24 hours
_gat	Google Analytics	Throttles request rate to limit data collection on high-traffic sites	1 minute

Advertising

Google AdSense — Serve Relevant Advertisements

Aestiora uses Google AdSense (Google LLC) to display advertisements. Ad revenue allows us to keep the image library free for all users. AdSense uses cookies to serve ads relevant to your interests based on your browsing history across sites that use Google's advertising services.

AdSense may collect your IP address, browser type, device identifiers, and prior browsing activity to infer interests and deliver targeted ads. Google acts as an independent data controller for AdSense data — it processes that data under its own policies, not solely on our behalf. Review Google's ad practices at the Google Advertising Policies page. To opt out of personalized ads, see Section 3 below.

Cookie Name	Set By	Purpose	Duration
__gads	Google AdSense	Records what ads have been displayed — prevents the same ad appearing too often and measures effectiveness	13 months
__gpi	Google AdSense	Stores ad personalization preferences across sites using Google's ad services	13 months
IDE	Google (doubleclick.net)	Registers and reports ad interactions for targeting and conversion measurement	13 months
NID	Google	Stores preferences and information used for ad serving and Google service personalization	6 months
CONSENT	Google	Records your cookie consent state so Google does not re-prompt unnecessarily	2 years

Your Choices

How to Manage Cookies

You have several ways to control cookies. Disabling analytics or advertising cookies will not affect your ability to browse or download images. Disabling strictly necessary cookies may cause parts of the platform to stop working.

Browser Settings

Most browsers let you view, manage, block, and delete cookies through their settings menus. Cookie management instructions for the most widely used browsers:

Google Chrome — Settings → Privacy and Security → Cookies and other site data
Mozilla Firefox — Settings → Privacy & Security → Cookies and Site Data
Apple Safari — Preferences → Privacy → Manage Website Data
Microsoft Edge — Settings → Cookies and site permissions → Manage and delete cookies

Note: if you delete cookies, any consent preferences you have previously set will be cleared and you may be prompted to make those choices again on your next visit.

Opt Out of Google Analytics

To prevent Google Analytics from collecting data about your visits across all websites, install the official Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on. This instructs the GA JavaScript not to send visit data to Google and works across all sites using Google Analytics.

Alternatively, delete or block the _ga, _gid, and _ga_* cookies through your browser settings. Because _ga has a 2-year expiry, you will need to delete it explicitly rather than waiting for it to expire naturally.

Do Not Track

Some browsers can send a "Do Not Track" (DNT) signal requesting that websites not track your browsing. There is currently no legally binding or universally adopted standard for how websites must respond to DNT signals, so Aestiora does not alter its data collection practices in response to them. We will revisit this position if a recognized standard is established. In the meantime, the browser and opt-out tools above give you meaningful, effective control over tracking.

Policy Changes & Contact

We may update this Cookie Policy to reflect changes in the cookies we use, updates to third-party services, or evolving legal requirements. We will update the "Last updated" date when material changes are made. We encourage you to review this page periodically.

For questions about this policy or to exercise any rights related to cookie-based data, contact us at:

Aestiora — Privacy & Cookie Enquiries
Email: [email protected] · Web: www.aestiora.com

For broader information on how we handle personal data, see our Privacy Policy.