What a cookie really is
A cookie is a tiny text file that a site saves onto your device the first time you land on it. It lets the site hold onto a few basic details as you click around or come back later: which consent banner you already closed, say, or which referral link sent you our way. Cookies carry no executable code, cannot infect your machine with malware, and each one stores just a short string that on its own says nothing identifiable about you. Websites also use cousins of cookies such as browser local storage and tracking pixels; to keep the writing clean, this page groups all of those under the umbrella term "cookies".
- What a cookie really is
- The reason we use any at all
- The four categories we rely on
- Which analytics tools are actually running
- Third-party cookies
- Taking control of cookies in your browser
- Your consent, your call
- Getting in touch
- Updates to this policy
The reason we use any at all
Alkenind.com is a review publication, not a gambling operator. No player accounts are opened here and no wagers are placed, which means we need only a sliver of what any casino routinely collects. The cookies we do deploy do three simple things: they keep the pages working as you click around, they remember small personal settings so your session feels consistent, and they let us measure, strictly in aggregate, which guides readers actually spend time on. That last metric drives our decisions about what to refresh, grow or quietly retire. At no stage are we trying to pin down who you are as a person.
The four categories we rely on
Every single cookie on this site sits in one of the four industry-standard groups shown in the table below. Essential cookies always run, because without them the site simply will not function. The other three groupings are optional and remain inactive until you choose to turn them on.
| Category | Purpose | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Essential | Covers security basics and ensures each page renders properly as you navigate. Cannot be switched off. | Session ID, saved consent response, load-balancer token |
| Preferences | Keeps small interface choices so the site matches the setup you had last time around. | Chosen country or market, colour scheme, banners you have already dismissed |
| Analytics | Tracks visits in bulk so we can see which pieces are working and which need a rewrite. | Microsoft Clarity, Matomo |
| Marketing | Credits us when you reach a casino through one of our links, which is how our commissions are earned. | Affiliate tracking placed by the receiving casino or its network |
Which analytics tools are actually running
Just two analytics services are plumbed into alkenind.com, and neither one fires until you say yes. Microsoft Clarity gathers anonymised, aggregated behaviour signals such as scroll depth and click positions, which helps us catch layouts that confuse readers or parts of a page that appear to misbehave. Matomo tallies page views, broad geographic region and device type so we can watch long-run traffic patterns. Neither tool builds an ad-targeting profile against you, and both deliver their output to us as pooled totals, never anything you could trace back to a single person. Prefer not to be counted at all? Turning down analytics cookies disables both, and nothing else about the site changes.
Third-party cookies
A few of the cookies you may pick up while reading our pages are placed by other businesses rather than by us. The most common instance: you tap an outbound casino link, and the operator on the receiving end, or the affiliate network sitting behind that link, drops its own cookie so it can log that the referral originated at Alkenind.com. That is the mechanism by which we earn a commission. It never adds anything to what you would normally spend, and it has no bearing on how we rank. Once you arrive at another company's site, their own cookie policy and privacy terms apply, and those are beyond our reach. Affiliate cookies of this variety usually live for 30 to 90 days.
Taking control of cookies in your browser
Beyond whatever decision you make on our consent banner, every mainstream browser lets you view, erase or block cookies on its own. Menu wording shifts across versions, but these are the standard entry points:
- Chrome: Settings → Privacy and security → Third-party cookies (or Cookies and site data).
- Firefox: Settings → Privacy & Security → Cookies and Site Data.
- Safari: On iPhone or iPad, Settings → Safari → Advanced → Website Data; on macOS, Safari → Settings → Privacy.
- Edge: Settings → Cookies and site permissions → Manage and delete cookies and site data.
A private or incognito session is another route, since it usually clears the bulk of cookies as soon as you shut the window. Keep in mind that blocking items flagged as essential can stop parts of the site, including the consent banner itself or your saved theme, from behaving the way they should.
Your consent, your call
The first time you visit, we ask whether you are happy with the cookies that are not strictly required. Nothing optional fires until you agree, and if you later change your mind, you can reset the whole arrangement by clearing cookies for this site or adjusting your browser settings. Essential cookies stay switched on because the site genuinely needs them to function; preferences, analytics and marketing cookies are entirely in your hands.
Getting in touch
If any part of this page sparks a question, or you want to know what information we currently hold about you, drop us a line via the contact page and we will talk you through it. Broader personal-data matters that reach past cookies live in our privacy policy.
Updates to this policy
We may rework this text whenever our own tooling shifts or when the governing rules change shape. If that happens, the last-updated date is pushed forward and the fresh wording replaces whatever came before. The version in front of you was most recently refreshed in July 2026.