Cookie Policy

This Cookie Policy (hereinafter, the “Policy”) explains how mariociavarella.com (hereinafter, the “Website”) uses cookies and similar technologies to provide, improve and protect its services. This Policy is provided pursuant to Article 5(3) of the ePrivacy Directive (Directive 2002/58/EC), the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (“GDPR”), UK GDPR and applicable national legislation including the Italian Data Protection Authority guidelines on cookies (10 June 2021) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA).

What are Cookies and Similar Technologies

Cookies are small text files that are placed on your device (computer, smartphone, tablet or other electronic device) when you visit a website. Cookies allow the website to recognize your device and store certain information about your preferences or actions. Similar technologies include:

• Local storage: a mechanism for storing data locally in your browser with greater capacity than cookies.
• Session storage: temporary storage that is cleared when the browser session ends.
• Web beacons/pixels: small graphic images used to track user behavior and measure website performance.

Key Principles

• The Website sets no cookies for ordinary visitors. There is no analytics, no advertising and no profiling, so there is nothing to consent to and no cookie banner. The only cookie the Website can set belongs to the site owner's administration area, after a login.
• Until July 2026 the Website used Google Analytics 4 behind an opt-in banner. Both have been removed, and with them the consent cookie (mc_consent) they required.
• The contact form and the comment form use Cloudflare Turnstile for anti-spam protection. In the configuration used here (pre-clearance not enabled, which is Cloudflare's default) the widget issues a single-use token rather than setting a cf_clearance cookie.
• The Website stores your theme preference (light/dark) in your browser's local storage. It never leaves your device and contains no personal data.

Managing Your Cookie Preferences

You have the right to decide whether to accept or reject cookies. On this Website there is nothing to accept or reject and no banner is shown, because no non-essential cookie is set. What follows applies to cookies in general, and to the administration cookie in particular.

Via Browser Settings

Every browser lets you view and delete the cookies stored on your device, block all of them or only some, ask to be notified when one is set, and clear them when you close the browser. Blocking the administration cookie prevents the site owner from signing in; nothing a visitor does depends on it.

Do Not Track (DNT)

The Do Not Track signal asks a website not to track you. This one does not track anyone, with or without the signal: there is no analytics and no profiling to switch off.

Categories of Cookies Used

The Website uses cookies and similar technologies for different purposes. Below is a detailed description of each category of cookies, their purpose, legal basis and retention period.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

One cookie falls in this category, and it is not set for visitors. The legal basis is Article 6(1)(f) GDPR (legitimate interest in operating the Website).

Security and Anti-Spam Technologies

To protect the Website and its users from automated abuse, the contact form and the comment form use Cloudflare Turnstile, a service provided by Cloudflare, Inc. Turnstile distinguishes human visitors from automated ones without asking you to solve a puzzle in the ordinary case. The legal basis for this processing is legitimate interest (Article 6(1)(f) GDPR) in ensuring the security and integrity of the Website and preventing abuse.

Turnstile does not set a cookie in the configuration used here. Cloudflare's optional "pre-clearance" feature, which issues a cf_clearance cookie, is disabled — that is Cloudflare's default for new widgets. When you submit one of the forms, the widget produces a single-use token that is sent to this Website and verified server-side with Cloudflare; the token is not stored afterwards. To perform the check, Cloudflare processes technical data such as your IP address and browser characteristics.

Until July 2026 this role was performed by Google reCAPTCHA, which has been removed from the Website.

For details on how Cloudflare processes this data, refer to the Cloudflare Privacy Policy and the Turnstile documentation.

For additional information about how personal data is processed when using the contact form, please refer to my Privacy Policy.

Data Transfers and Third-Party Services

One third party processes data on behalf of the Website: Cloudflare, Inc., for the anti-spam check on the forms and, where the Website is served through Cloudflare, for delivering the pages. Cloudflare may transfer and process data outside the European Economic Area (EEA) and the United Kingdom. Such transfers are conducted in accordance with appropriate safeguards as required by GDPR, UK GDPR and applicable data protection laws, including Standard Contractual Clauses approved by the European Commission.

For more information about international data transfers and the safeguards in place, please refer to my Privacy Policy.

Contact Information

If you have any questions or concerns about this Cookie Policy or the use of cookies on this Website, please contact the Data Controller at [email protected].

Updates to This Policy

This Cookie Policy may be updated periodically to reflect changes in my cookie practices, legal requirements or operational needs. The “Last updated” date at the top of this document indicates when the Policy was last revised. I encourage you to review this Policy regularly to stay informed about how I use cookies and similar technologies.

Legal References and Resources

This Cookie Policy is based on and complies with the following legal frameworks and official guidance:

• ePrivacy Directive — Directive 2002/58/EC concerning the processing of personal data and the protection of privacy in the electronic communications sector: EUR-Lex
• GDPR — Regulation (EU) 2016/679 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data: EUR-Lex
• UK GDPR — The UK’s implementation of GDPR post-Brexit: ICO UK GDPR
• Italian Data Protection Authority Cookie Guidelines — Guidelines on cookies and other tracking tools, decision no. 231 of 10 June 2021 (published in Italian Official Gazette no. 163 of 9 July 2021): Authority guidelines on cookies and other tracking tools
• CCPA/CPRA — California Consumer Privacy Act as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act: California Attorney General