Last updated: September 26, 2026
This Cookie Policy explains how Dreaming of Canada uses cookies and similar technologies on https://dreamingofcanada.com. It should be read together with our Privacy Policy.
This Policy takes into account, where applicable, Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (“GDPR”), Directive 2002/58/EC (“ePrivacy Directive”), Article 122 of the Italian Personal Data Protection Code (Legislative Decree 196/2003, as amended), and the Italian Data Protection Authority’s Guidelines on cookies and other tracking tools.
1. What cookies are
Cookies are small text files or pieces of information that a website or third party can store on or read from a browser or device. Session cookies expire when the browser session ends; persistent cookies remain for a defined period unless deleted earlier.
Similar technologies can include local storage, pixels, tags, SDKs and other browser or device identifiers. This Policy uses “cookies and similar technologies” to cover these tools where relevant.
2. First-party and third-party cookies
First-party cookies are set or read by the domain being visited. Third-party cookies are set or read by another provider whose service is used on the page. Whether consent is required depends on the purpose and operation of the technology, not merely on whether it is first party or third party.
3. Legal basis and consent
Cookies and technologies strictly necessary to transmit a communication or provide an information-society service explicitly requested by the user may generally be used without prior consent, subject to the applicable information requirements.
Cookies and tracking technologies used for non-technical or otherwise non-exempt purposes are used only after prior consent where consent is required by law. Consent must be freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous and must result from an active choice. Continuing to browse by itself is not treated as valid consent for non-essential tracking.
4. Categories of cookies and similar technologies
4.1 Strictly necessary / technical
Used for core Website operation, network communication, security, fraud prevention, session management, administrative access or to remember a privacy choice requested by the user. These may be used without consent where the legal conditions for the technical-cookie exemption are met.
4.2 Preference and functionality
These may remember optional choices that improve the user experience. Whether consent is required depends on whether the technology is actually necessary for a service explicitly requested by the user.
4.3 Analytics and measurement
Analytics technologies help measure visits and understand how the Website is used. Under Italian guidance, certain analytics may in limited circumstances be treated similarly to technical cookies only if the required safeguards are satisfied, including appropriate minimisation and restrictions on combining or sharing data. Otherwise, prior consent is required.
4.4 Advertising, profiling and marketing
Technologies used to build profiles, track users across services, personalise advertising or perform non-exempt advertising measurement require prior consent where required by law.
4.5 Embedded third-party content
Maps, videos, booking tools, social embeds and other external content may cause a third-party provider to receive technical information or place/read cookies. Where this is non-essential and consent is required, the relevant component should remain blocked until consent is provided.
5. Services currently identified on Dreaming of Canada
| Service / provider | Purpose | Category | Consent approach |
|---|---|---|---|
| WordPress | Website operation, login/session functions, preferences and technical functionality | Primarily technical / necessary depending on the specific cookie | Technical cookies may be used without consent where legally exempt |
| Jetpack / Automattic | Website features, performance, security and statistics | Technical and/or analytics depending on feature and configuration | Non-essential analytics or tracking requires consent unless a lawful exemption applies |
| Jetpack Stats | Measurement of Website visits and usage | Analytics | May operate without consent only where the legal requirements for exempt analytics are actually satisfied; otherwise prior consent is required |
| Akismet / Automattic | Spam and abuse detection for comments or protected submissions | Security / anti-spam | Used for security and abuse prevention; any additional non-essential tracking requires its own legal basis |
| Affiliate links, including Booking.com | Referral to third-party booking services and attribution of eligible transactions | External / affiliate | An ordinary outbound link does not necessarily set a third-party cookie on Dreaming of Canada; the destination service may use its own cookies after the user visits it |
The exact cookie names, identifiers and retention periods used by external providers can change as those providers update their services or as Website configuration changes. Where a live cookie-preference panel is enabled, the current details shown there should be read together with this Policy.
6. WordPress cookies
WordPress can use cookies for technical functions such as authentication, administrative sessions, interface preferences and, where enabled, comments. Some cookies apply only to administrators or logged-in users and are not normally used for ordinary anonymous browsing.
7. Jetpack and Jetpack Stats
Jetpack is active on the Website and Jetpack Stats is enabled. Depending on configuration and changes to the service, Jetpack may process technical and usage information and may use cookies or related technologies.
Jetpack Stats may be operated without consent only if the Website’s actual configuration satisfies the applicable conditions for an analytics exemption. If those conditions are not met, non-essential analytics technology must remain disabled until valid consent is provided.
8. Akismet
Akismet helps detect spam and abusive submissions. When a protected submission is made, the service may process submission and technical data such as IP address, user agent and referrer for anti-spam and security purposes.
9. Affiliate links and Booking.com
Dreaming of Canada contains affiliate links, including links to Booking.com. Clicking an affiliate link takes you to an external website. That provider may use cookies, referral identifiers or similar technologies to recognise the referral, maintain a session, measure conversions, personalise its service or perform other processing described in its own privacy and cookie information.
Dreaming of Canada does not control cookies placed directly by an external website after you leave our domain.
10. Consent banner and default setting
Where cookies or tracking technologies require consent, the default setting should prevent those non-essential technologies from being activated before the user makes a valid choice. A consent interface should provide clear information and a genuine choice; refusal must not be treated as consent.
11. Accepting, refusing and customising choices
Where a cookie-preference tool is available, users should be able to accept non-essential technologies, refuse them, make granular choices where appropriate, and change or withdraw consent later.
Strictly necessary technologies cannot normally be disabled through the consent panel because they are required for the Website or a function explicitly requested by the user. Browser-level blocking may still be possible but can impair Website functions.
12. Withdrawal of consent
Consent can be withdrawn at any time for future processing and it should be as easy to withdraw as it was to give. Withdrawal does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.
13. Re-presenting the cookie banner
Where the Italian Data Protection Authority’s guidance applies, the Website should not repeatedly ask a user for consent after refusal or a partial choice, except where:
- processing conditions change significantly, for example relevant third parties change;
- the Website can no longer determine whether the previous choice is stored, for example because the relevant technical cookie was deleted;
- at least six months have passed since the previous presentation of the banner.
14. Proof and recording of consent
Where consent is the legal basis, the controller must be able to demonstrate that valid consent was obtained. A technical preference cookie or another appropriate record may therefore be used to store the user’s choice, consent status and information reasonably necessary to document it.
15. Cookie walls
Access to ordinary Website content should not be made conditional on accepting non-essential tracking unless the arrangement satisfies the strict requirements of applicable law. Consent is not freely given where the user has no genuine choice, subject to any lawful exception assessed case by case.
16. Analytics cookies
Analytics cookies are not automatically “technical” merely because they are used for statistics. Under Italian guidance, analytics may be treated similarly to technical cookies only when the required safeguards are actually satisfied, such as data minimisation and restrictions on combining data with other information or sharing it for unrelated purposes.
17. Browser settings
Most browsers allow users to view, delete, block or limit cookies. Blocking all cookies can affect functions relying on strictly necessary session or preference cookies.
Deleting cookies may also remove the technical record that remembers a privacy choice. In that case, the Website may have to ask for the choice again because it can no longer recognise the previous preference.
18. Third-party policies
Third-party providers determine the purpose, duration and operation of their own cookies and technologies. Because those services may change independently, users should consult the current privacy and cookie information of the relevant provider when interacting with its service.
19. Retention
Session cookies generally expire when the browser session ends. Persistent cookies remain for the period specified by the party that sets them unless deleted earlier. Consent and preference records may be retained for the period reasonably necessary to remember the user’s choice and demonstrate compliance.
20. International transfers
Some providers may process information outside the European Economic Area. Where the GDPR applies, any international transfer must rely on an appropriate legal mechanism where required, such as an adequacy decision or suitable safeguards including Standard Contractual Clauses.
21. Changes to this Cookie Policy
This Policy may be updated when cookies, providers, Website features, consent mechanisms or legal requirements change. The date at the top identifies the stated revision date.
22. Contact
For questions about cookies, tracking technologies or privacy choices, contact dreamingofcanada.com@gmail.com.
For broader information about personal data processing, see our Privacy Policy.
23. Consent Management Platform (CMP)
Dreaming of Canada uses a locally implemented consent-management interface called Dreaming of Canada Privacy Choices CMP. The CMP does not require a separate external cookie-banner provider. Its purpose is to collect and remember the visitor’s choices before optional technologies are enabled.
23.1 Default consent state
On a visitor’s first visit, optional categories are set to denied by default. Necessary technologies remain active because they are required for core Website operation, security and remembering privacy preferences.
The available categories are:
- Necessary: always active;
- Analytics: optional and disabled until the visitor allows it;
- External content & marketing: optional and disabled until the visitor allows it.
23.2 Choice buttons
The first-level banner gives the visitor the ability to Reject non-essential, Customize or Accept all. The visitor can reopen the preference panel at any time through the “Privacy settings” control and change or withdraw previously given consent.
23.3 Preference cookie
The CMP uses the following strictly necessary first-party preference cookie:
| Cookie | Provider | Purpose | Category | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
doc_cmp_consent |
Dreaming of Canada | Stores the CMP version, Analytics choice, External content/marketing choice and the time of the choice so that the Website can respect the visitor’s preferences. | Necessary | 180 days |
This preference cookie does not itself enable advertising or analytics. If it is deleted, the Website may no longer be able to recognise the visitor’s previous choice and may therefore display the consent banner again.
23.4 Jetpack Stats
On this Website, Jetpack Stats is classified as Analytics by the local CMP. Its frontend statistics script is not loaded by the CMP integration until the visitor has granted Analytics consent. If Analytics consent is withdrawn, the CMP stores the new preference and the Website applies the updated state on the next page load.
23.5 External embeds and marketing technologies
Third-party scripts and embedded content that are configured through the CMP integration can remain inactive until the visitor grants the relevant optional category. This can include external video, map, booking, attraction, advertising or marketing services. The exact provider list can change as Website features change and should be reviewed whenever a new external service is introduced.
23.6 Consent duration and re-presentation
The local CMP remembers a valid preference for up to 180 days. A new choice may be requested earlier where the previous preference cannot be retrieved, the user clears browser data, or a material change to purposes, providers, categories or the consent configuration requires renewed information and consent.
23.7 No consent by scrolling or continued browsing
Scrolling, closing a browser tab or simply continuing to browse is not treated as consent to non-essential technologies. Optional categories require an affirmative choice through the CMP.