What Are Cookies
Cookies are small text files that websites place on your computer or mobile device when you visit them. They serve a variety of purposes — some are essential for a website to function properly, while others help website owners understand how their site is being used so they can improve it. Think of cookies as tiny memory notes that allow a website to remember things about your visit, such as your preferences, your login status, or the items in a shopping cart.
Cookies are not programs. They cannot run code on your device, install malware, or access personal files. They are simply strings of text — usually a name and a value — stored in a designated folder on your browser. When you revisit a website that set a cookie, your browser sends that cookie back to the server, allowing the site to recognize your device and recall the information stored in that cookie.
There are different categories of cookies based on their origin, duration, and purpose. First-party cookies are set by the website you are visiting directly, while third-party cookies are set by external services embedded on that website, such as analytics providers or advertising networks. Session cookies are temporary and disappear when you close your browser, whereas persistent cookies remain on your device for a set period or until you manually delete them.
Cookies We Use at Compress.Plus
At Compress.Plus, we keep cookie usage to an absolute minimum. Our core service — compressing and resizing images — does not require cookies at all because all image processing happens entirely within your browser using client-side JavaScript and HTML5 Canvas. Your images are never uploaded to our servers, so there is no session state or user account information that needs to be tracked.
The cookies that do appear when you visit Compress.Plus fall into a few specific categories. Below is a detailed table listing every cookie we set, what it does, how long it stays on your device, and which category it belongs to.
| Cookie Name | Purpose | Duration | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
| cookie_consent | Stores your preference regarding cookie consent. Remembers whether you have accepted or declined non-essential cookies so we do not show the consent banner repeatedly. | 1 year | Essential |
| wordpress_logged_in_* | Used by WordPress to maintain your logged-in session if you are an administrator or have an account on the site. The asterisk represents a random hash for security. | Session | Essential |
| wp-settings-* | Stores WordPress admin interface preferences such as dashboard layout, editor mode, and color scheme for logged-in users. | 1 year | Essential |
| _ga | Google Analytics cookie used to distinguish unique visitors. Generates a random client ID that helps us understand overall traffic patterns without identifying you personally. | 2 years | Analytics |
| _ga_* | Google Analytics 4 cookie used to maintain session state and track pageviews across visits. Helps us see which pages are most useful to our visitors. | 2 years | Analytics |
| _gid | Google Analytics cookie that differentiates users within a 24-hour period. Used alongside _ga to provide accurate daily traffic metrics. | 24 hours | Analytics |
| _gat | Google Analytics cookie that throttles the request rate to prevent excessive data collection. Limits how many hits are sent per minute. | 1 minute | Analytics |
| __cf_bm | Cloudflare Bot Management cookie that helps detect and mitigate automated traffic, protecting the site from bots and abuse. | 30 minutes | Security |
| cf_clearance | Cloudflare cookie that verifies you have passed a security challenge, such as a CAPTCHA, and grants you access to the site. | 1 year | Security |
Essential Cookies
Essential cookies are strictly necessary for the website to function properly. These cookies enable core features such as security, network management, account authentication, and cookie consent preferences. You cannot opt out of essential cookies because doing so would break fundamental functionality — for example, without the cookie_consent cookie, we would have no way to remember that you already responded to our consent banner, and it would appear on every single page load.
At Compress.Plus, essential cookies include our consent management cookie and the standard WordPress cookies that are set automatically when an administrator is logged in. Regular visitors who are not logged into WordPress will only see the cookie_consent cookie. WordPress session cookies (wordpress_logged_in_*) and admin preference cookies (wp-settings-*) are only created when someone with an account signs in to the WordPress dashboard. If you are simply visiting the site to compress or resize images, these WordPress cookies will never be set on your device.
Good to know: Compress.Plus does not use cookies to track your image processing activity. Your compression and resize operations are handled entirely in your browser through client-side JavaScript. No cookie stores information about the images you upload, the settings you choose, or the files you download.
Analytics Cookies
We use Google Analytics to understand how visitors interact with Compress.Plus. Analytics cookies help us answer important questions: which pages do people visit most often, how long do they stay, what tools do they use, and where do they come from? This information is incredibly valuable because it tells us what is working and what needs improvement. Without it, we would be building features blindly, guessing at what our users need instead of making data-informed decisions.
The data collected by Google Analytics is aggregated and anonymized. This means we can see that, for example, five hundred people visited the Compress PNG page on a given day, but we cannot see who those people are, what their email addresses are, or anything else that would identify them individually. The _ga cookie assigns each visitor a randomly generated client ID — this is not your name, your email, or any personal identifier. It is simply a random string that allows Google Analytics to count you as a unique visitor so our traffic numbers are accurate.
If you prefer not to have analytics cookies on your device, you have several options. You can decline non-essential cookies through our consent banner when it first appears, you can install the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on, or you can block cookies entirely through your browser settings. We respect your choice either way — declining analytics cookies does not affect the core functionality of Compress.Plus in any way. You will still be able to compress, resize, and download images just as effectively.
Security Cookies
We use Cloudflare to protect Compress.Plus from malicious traffic, distributed denial-of-service attacks, and automated bot scraping. Cloudflare sets two cookies on your device as part of this protection. The __cf_bm cookie (Cloudflare Bot Management) helps Cloudflare distinguish between legitimate human visitors and automated bots. It runs in the background and has a very short lifespan of thirty minutes, refreshing only when needed. The cf_clearance cookie is set when Cloudflare presents a security challenge — such as a CAPTCHA — and you successfully complete it. This cookie tells Cloudflare that your device has been verified, so you will not be challenged again for the duration of the cookie.
These security cookies are important because they keep Compress.Plus fast and available for everyone. Without Cloudflare's protection, the site would be vulnerable to bot traffic that could slow it down or take it offline entirely. The security cookies do not collect personal information, track your browsing across other websites, or build a profile of your online behavior. They exist purely to confirm that you are a real person using a real browser and to keep the site running smoothly.
Third-Party Cookies
Third-party cookies are set by services other than Compress.Plus itself. On our site, the primary sources of third-party cookies are Google Analytics and Cloudflare, both of which are described in the sections above. We do not intentionally embed any additional third-party tracking scripts, advertising pixels, social media widgets, or retargeting codes that would set cookies on your device.
If we introduce new third-party services in the future that involve cookies, we will update this Cookie Policy before those services go live. Any new third-party cookies will be categorized and explained in the same level of detail you see here, and they will only be activated after you have given your consent through our cookie banner (unless they are classified as essential, in which case they will be clearly justified).
Advertising cookies: If Compress.Plus serves advertisements through Google AdSense in the future, Google may set additional cookies for ad personalization, frequency capping, and conversion tracking. These cookies would fall under the "Advertising" category and would only be activated with your consent. We will update this policy before any advertising cookies are introduced.
How to Manage and Delete Cookies
You have complete control over cookies on your device. Every major browser gives you the ability to view, delete, and block cookies. Below are instructions for the most common browsers. If you are using a browser not listed here, check its help documentation or settings menu for cookie management options.
Google Chrome
Open Chrome and click the three-dot menu in the top-right corner. Select Settings, then navigate to Privacy and Security in the left sidebar. Click Third-party cookies to manage cookie permissions, or click Cookies and other site data to view and delete individual cookies. You can also clear all cookies by going to Clear browsing data, selecting the Cookies and other site data checkbox, and choosing your time range.
Mozilla Firefox
Click the hamburger menu (three horizontal lines) in the top-right corner and select Settings. Go to the Privacy and Security panel. Under Cookies and Site Data, you can click Manage Data to view and remove individual cookies, or Clear Data to delete all stored cookies. Firefox also offers Enhanced Tracking Protection, which automatically blocks many third-party tracking cookies by default.
Safari (macOS)
Open Safari and go to Settings (or Preferences on older versions) from the Safari menu. Click the Privacy tab. Here you can manage website data, block all cookies, or see which websites have stored data on your device. Safari also includes Intelligent Tracking Prevention, which limits how third-party cookies can track your activity across websites.
Microsoft Edge
Click the three-dot menu in the top-right corner and select Settings. Navigate to Cookies and site permissions in the left sidebar. Under Cookies and data stored, you can manage and delete cookies, set permissions for specific sites, and configure how Edge handles third-party cookies. Edge also includes a Tracking Prevention feature that blocks known trackers by default.
Safari (iOS) and Chrome (Android)
On iOS, open the Settings app, scroll down to Safari, and tap it. Under Privacy and Security, you will find options to Block All Cookies and Prevent Cross-Site Tracking. On Android, open Chrome, tap the three-dot menu, go to Settings, then Site Settings, then Cookies. You can toggle cookies on or off and manage individual site permissions from there.
Important: Blocking all cookies may affect the functionality of some websites. While Compress.Plus will continue to work for image compression and resizing without cookies (since all processing is client-side), blocking essential cookies on other sites may prevent you from logging in, filling out forms, or using certain features. We recommend blocking only third-party cookies if you want to balance privacy with usability.
Cookie Consent
When you first visit Compress.Plus, you will see a cookie consent banner that asks whether you accept non-essential cookies. This banner appears because of privacy regulations such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union and similar laws in other regions that require websites to obtain your informed consent before setting cookies that are not strictly necessary for the site to function.
Your choice is stored in the cookie_consent cookie, which is classified as essential because without it we would have no record of your decision and would need to show the consent banner on every page. If you accept non-essential cookies, analytics and any other non-essential cookies will be activated. If you decline, only essential cookies (consent management, WordPress session cookies for logged-in administrators, and Cloudflare security cookies) will be set on your device.
You can change your mind at any time. To update your cookie preferences, clear the cookie_consent cookie from your browser (see the instructions above for your specific browser), then reload the site. The consent banner will appear again, and you can make a new choice. Alternatively, you can contact us through our contact page and we will guide you through the process.
Do Not Track Signals
Some browsers send a Do Not Track (DNT) signal to websites as a header in their HTTP requests. This signal tells websites that the user does not want to be tracked. While Compress.Plus respects the spirit of DNT, there is no universal standard for how websites should respond to this signal. Our approach is to treat DNT as equivalent to declining non-essential cookies — if your browser sends a DNT signal, we will not activate analytics cookies or other non-essential cookies unless you explicitly accept them through our consent banner.
It is worth noting that the DNT header is not enabled by default in most browsers. You usually have to enable it manually in your browser settings. If you have enabled DNT and are still seeing our cookie consent banner, that is because the banner serves as a clear, interactive way to confirm your preference, regardless of the DNT signal.
Changes to This Cookie Policy
We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time to reflect changes in the cookies we use, changes in technology, or changes in applicable laws and regulations. When we make changes, we will update the "Last Updated" date at the top of this page so you can always tell when the policy was last reviewed. If we make significant changes that affect the types of cookies we set or the way we use cookie data, we will also display a notice on our website to draw your attention to the update.
We encourage you to review this Cookie Policy periodically so you stay informed about how we use cookies and how you can manage them. Your continued use of Compress.Plus after any changes to this policy constitutes your acceptance of the updated terms, unless you decline non-essential cookies through the consent banner.
Contact Us About Cookies
If you have any questions about this Cookie Policy, the specific cookies we use, or how your data is handled at Compress.Plus, we are happy to help. You can reach us through our contact page and we will respond as quickly as we can. We take privacy seriously and are committed to being transparent about every aspect of how our site works, including the small text files it places on your device.
For more information about our overall approach to privacy and data protection, please also read our Privacy Policy. It covers topics beyond cookies, including what data we collect, how we use it, and your rights under applicable privacy laws.