Cookie Policy

Last updated: 30 May 2026.

This Cookie Policy explains how GoLinuxCloud ("we", "us") uses cookies and similar tracking technologies on https://www.golinuxcloud.com (the "Service"). It is a companion to our Privacy Policy, our Terms of Service, and our Editorial Policy.

If you only have 30 seconds: we use a small set of cookies that are strictly necessary for the site to function, plus Google Analytics 4 for aggregate audience measurement, plus a small group of advertising cookies served by AdPushup and AdRecover (both authorized AdSense partners) to fund the site. You can refuse non-essential cookies at any time via our consent banner or in your browser settings — and the site will still work.

A cookie is a small text file that a website places on your device through your browser. When you visit a page on GoLinuxCloud, your browser may store some information that is read back on your next page view — for example, to remember that you have already dismissed the cookie banner, or to count whether a return visitor is new for analytics purposes.

We also use similar technologies that are functionally equivalent to cookies for the purposes of this policy:

  • Pixel tags / web beacons — tiny transparent images used to record that a page was viewed or that an email was opened.
  • Local storage / session storage — browser-side key/value stores that persist information longer than a single tab session (localStorage) or only until the tab closes (sessionStorage).
  • Etag / cache headers used as identifiers — not currently used by us, but listed for completeness.

For the rest of this policy, "cookie" refers to all of the above unless explicitly stated.

2. Cookies set directly by GoLinuxCloud (first-party)

These are set by golinuxcloud.com itself. The list is intentionally small.

Cookie / item Type Purpose Lifetime
cookie_consent Necessary Records your choice in the cookie consent banner so we don't ask again on every page view. 12 months
Theme preference (localStorage key, e.g. theme) Necessary Remembers your dark / light mode preference. Persistent until cleared
Cloudflare __cf_bm Necessary Bot-management cookie set by our hosting provider (Cloudflare). Distinguishes humans from automated bots and is required for the site to be reachable. ~30 minutes
Cloudflare cf_clearance Necessary Set after a successful Cloudflare challenge (only seen by visitors who had to complete a CAPTCHA). Up to 1 year, browser-scoped

The "Necessary" cookies above are strictly necessary for the Service to function or to comply with our security obligations. Under the EU ePrivacy Directive and equivalent regimes (UK PECR, EEA, several US states) these cookies are exempt from consent. You can still delete them in your browser, but doing so may break basic functionality (e.g. you will see the consent banner every visit, or be re-challenged by Cloudflare).

3. Analytics cookies (Google Analytics 4)

We use Google Analytics 4 (GA4) to understand which tutorials are read, on what devices, in which countries, and via which referrer. This helps us decide what to write next and what to retire.

Cookie Set by Purpose Lifetime
_ga Google Distinguishes unique users. 2 years
_ga_ENK40BBCT8 Google GA4 session state for our property. 2 years
_gid Google Distinguishes unique users (24-hour window). 24 hours
_gat, _gat_gtag_UA_* Google Throttles request rate. < 1 minute

GA4 is configured with:

  • IP anonymization enabled.
  • Ads personalization signals disabled.
  • Beacon transport so analytics requests do not block page load.

You can opt out of GA tracking in one of three ways:

  1. Reject "Analytics" cookies in our consent banner. This is the simplest path and is honored on every subsequent page view from that browser.
  2. Install Google's official opt-out add-on for Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, or Opera. This blocks the GA4 script from running on every site.
  3. Use a privacy-focused browser (Brave, Tor Browser) or an ad-blocker. GA4 requests are blocked by default in most major ad-blocking lists.

GA4 data is processed by Google LLC and may be transferred to data centers outside your country of residence. Google's data-processing terms and security commitments are documented at policies.google.com/privacy.

4. Advertising cookies

GoLinuxCloud is funded in part by display advertising. We do not run our own ad sales — ads are served through two authorized Google AdSense partners:

  • AdPushup ( adpushup.com) — header-bidding, yield optimization, and ad insertion.
  • AdRecover ( adrecover.com) — adblock-recovery ads (privacy-respecting placements shown to readers who would otherwise see no ads at all).

These partners may set cookies to:

  • Limit how often you see a given ad ("frequency capping").
  • Measure ad performance (impressions, viewability, click-through).
  • Optionally show you ads that are more relevant to your interests, only if you have consented to advertising cookies.

4.1 Cookies set by Google / AdSense

Cookie Set by Purpose Lifetime
__gads Google Ad delivery and frequency capping. 13 months
__gpi Google Ad delivery and frequency capping (a successor to __gads). 13 months
IDE Google (doubleclick.net) Ad measurement and reporting; personalized advertising if consented. 13 months
NID Google Stores ad and personalization preferences. 6 months
ANID Google Storage of preferences for Google services. ~13 months

4.2 Cookies set by AdPushup

AdPushup may set first-party and third-party cookies for header bidding, ad rotation, and frequency capping. The exact list varies as their stack evolves; AdPushup's own privacy policy (linked below) is authoritative.

Cookie family Purpose Typical lifetime
_ap_* AdPushup yield optimization and frequency capping. 30-180 days
Third-party SSP cookies Header-bidding handshake with demand partners (e.g. PubMatic, OpenX, Magnite). Varies (typically up to 1 year)

Reference: AdPushup Privacy Policy.

4.3 Cookies set by AdRecover

AdRecover may set its own cookies (typically prefixed with _adrecover or similar) for the same purposes as above, but specifically targeted at users who run an ad-blocker.

Reference: AdRecover Privacy Policy.

4.4 Opting out of advertising cookies

You have multiple options:

  1. Reject "Advertising" cookies in our consent banner. Frequency capping and measurement may degrade, but the site continues to work and ads continue to display (just without personalization).
  2. Use Google's Ads Settings to turn off ad personalization across the entire web wherever you're signed in to a Google account.
  3. Use YourAdChoices (NAI, DAA) to opt out of personalized advertising from participating providers in your region.
  4. Use the European Interactive Digital Advertising Alliance (EDAA) opt-out if you are in the EEA / UK.
  5. Install an ad-blocker. Note that this triggers AdRecover; you can refuse adblock-recovery ads in the banner above (Section 4.3).

5. Cookies set by embedded third-party content

Some tutorials embed third-party content. When that content loads, the third party may set its own cookies, governed by their privacy and cookie policies — not ours.

Embed Provider Provider's policy
YouTube video embeds Google LLC policies.google.com/technologies/cookies
GitHub Gist embeds GitHub, Inc. docs.github.com/site-policy/privacy-policies
Buy Me a Coffee widget (footer link only — no inline widget loaded by default) Buy Me a Coffee buymeacoffee.com/privacy-policy

Where technically practical, we use the "privacy-enhanced" variant of an embed (for example, youtube-nocookie.com for YouTube), so that cookies are not set until you actually press Play.

If you are visiting from the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, or a US state with a comprehensive privacy law (e.g. California, Virginia, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah, Texas, Oregon, Montana, Indiana, Iowa, Tennessee, Delaware) we present a cookie consent banner on your first visit. The banner offers granular control over each non-essential category:

  • Necessary — always on (Section 2 above).
  • Analytics — controls GA4.
  • Advertising — controls AdSense / AdPushup / AdRecover personalization.
  • Embeds — controls third-party embedded content.

You can change your choice at any time by clicking "Cookie Settings" in the footer.

For visitors in jurisdictions that do not legally require a consent banner, we still respect the Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal where your browser sends one. If we see Sec-GPC: 1 in the request headers, we treat that as a refusal of advertising-personalization cookies.

7. "Do Not Track" (DNT)

There is no industry consensus on how to honor the legacy Do Not Track header. We do not currently respond to it. We do respect the newer Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal as described in Section 6, and our consent banner gives you granular control regardless of DNT/GPC support in your browser.

8. How long cookies last

Each cookie's lifetime is listed in the tables above. In summary:

  • Session cookies are deleted when you close the browser.
  • Persistent cookies stay until either their stated expiry date or until you delete them manually.

You can review and delete cookies stored on your device through your browser settings:

9. International data transfers

GoLinuxCloud is operated from India. The third parties identified in this policy (Google, AdPushup, AdRecover, Cloudflare, GitHub) may process data in multiple jurisdictions including the United States and the European Union. Their respective transfer mechanisms (Standard Contractual Clauses, adequacy decisions, EU-US Data Privacy Framework participation) are documented in their privacy policies linked above.

10. Your rights

Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have the right to access, correct, delete, restrict the processing of, port, or object to the processing of your personal data (including data derived from cookies). The full list of rights and how to exercise them is in our Privacy Policy.

For matters specifically about cookies, the fastest path is to:

  1. Reject the relevant category in our consent banner. This stops new processing.
  2. Delete the cookies in your browser. This stops historical processing tied to a particular cookie value.

We may update this Cookie Policy when our partners change, when laws change, or when our own technology stack changes. The "Last updated" date at the top of this page always reflects the most recent revision.

We encourage you to revisit this page periodically. For material changes, we will refresh the consent banner so that any prior choices are re-obtained from you.

12. Contact

Questions about cookies, your consent, or this policy?

GoLinuxCloud — Deepak Prasad Email: [email protected] Contact form: /contact-us/ Privacy Policy: /privacy-policy/