Cookie Policy

Last updated: November 2, 2026

This page explains, in plain English, what cookies and similar technologies we use on arihosting.online, why we use them, and how you can control them. The short version: we only use what's strictly necessary to run the site and take your payment. No ad trackers, no snooping, no selling your browsing history.

What are cookies, in one sentence

Cookies are small text files your browser stores on your device so a website can remember things about your visit — like that you're logged in. There are also similar technologies (local storage, pixels), and this policy covers those too.

The short version

• We use essential and functional cookies only — the ones needed for the site to work, for secure checkout, and to remember your language.
• We do not use advertising, tracking, or profiling cookies.
• We don't run third-party analytics. Our own Matomo installation runs cookieless, so it stores nothing on your device.
• Your consent choice is stored in your browser's local storage, not as a cookie.

Cookies we use

Cookie / technology	Purpose	Type	Duration
WordPress session cookies	Keeping you logged in to your account and dashboard	Essential	Session
Stripe.js (card element)	Secure payment processing — card data goes straight to Stripe, never to us	Essential for checkout	Session
Session cookie PHPSESSID	Lets our servers keep track of your visit while you browse	Essential	Session
Language preference ari_lang	Remembers the language you picked, and is only set if you pick one	Functional	1 year
Rate-limit / security state	Blocking brute-force attacks and abuse (per-IP limits)	Essential	Short-lived

That's the whole list. Embedded YouTube videos are not loaded until you press play, so simply browsing our pages requests nothing from YouTube and writes no YouTube cookie. If we ever add anything else — marketing pixels, A/B testing — it will be off by default and only loaded after you explicitly accept it using the “Privacy & cookie settings” control described below.

Third-party services

Stripe powers secure card payments. Stripe may set its own cookies inside the payment form; those are necessary for the payment you've asked us to process and are covered by Stripe's own privacy policy. We never see or store your full card number — it's tokenized and handled entirely by Stripe.

YouTube hosts the videos on our home page and in some of our guides. We do not load them by default: you see a still image, and YouTube is only contacted once you press play. Playback then comes from youtube-nocookie.com (YouTube's privacy-enhanced mode), which may set cookies on its own domain once a video actually starts. If you never press play, YouTube never hears from your browser.

We also measure anonymous traffic statistics with our own Matomo installation at analytics.arihosting.online. It is configured with cookies disabled, so it stores nothing on your device and needs no consent. We do not use Google Analytics, and we do not run advertising or tracking pixels.

Your consent, and how to change it

Our site stores nothing that needs your permission before you use it, so we deliberately do not show a consent wall asking you to accept cookies you do not need. Instead, the “Privacy & cookie settings” control in the bottom corner of every page shows you exactly what is stored and lets you clear it in a single click.

You can change or withdraw your choice at any time:

• Use the “Privacy & cookie settings” control in the bottom corner of any page — it lists what is stored and clears your saved preferences in one click.
• Block or delete cookies in your browser settings. Because our cookies are essential, blocking them may break login or checkout — but that's your call, and we respect it.
• You don't need to accept anything to browse the site, and a choice you make can be withdrawn just as easily as it was made.

Do Not Track

Because we don't track you across sites in the first place, there's nothing for a "Do Not Track" request to turn off — our behaviour is the same regardless of your browser's setting.

Changes to this policy

If we change the cookies we use, we'll update the "last updated" date above and — if the change is significant — email you before it takes effect. This policy is part of our Privacy Policy, which explains everything we do with your personal data in more depth.