The short version
This summary is here to help you skim, and the full policy below is what counts.
- My site uses one essential item, which saves your cookie choice in your browser so I don't have to keep asking.
- Analytics (Google Analytics) and advertising (Google Ads and the Meta Pixel) only load if you click "Accept" or turn them on in Cookie settings. If you click "Decline," or don't choose anything at all, they stay off, and my site works exactly the same either way.
- If my site isn't using any analytics or advertising tools, you won't see a cookie banner at all, and Cookie settings always shows you what's turned on.
- You can change your mind anytime with the Cookie settings link at the bottom of every page.
- If your browser sends a Global Privacy Control signal, I treat it as a no.
1. Who I am and what this policy covers
iBuildFreeWebsites is a business name of Hawkins Holdings LLC, a Florida limited liability company. In this policy, "I," "me" and "my" mean Hawkins Holdings LLC, and "my site" means ibuildfreewebsites.com. Miller runs the company, so when this policy says "I," he's speaking for the company.
This policy explains the cookies and similar technologies used on my site, and it's part of my Privacy Policy, which explains everything else about how I handle your information.
It doesn't cover other companies' pages that my site sends you to, like my intake form (a Google Form), Square's payment pages and the websites in my portfolio. Those companies use their own cookies under their own policies. It also doesn't cover the websites I build or host for clients (see section 8).
2. What cookies and similar technologies are
- Cookies are small text files that a website saves in your browser. Your browser sends them back to the website on later visits, which is how a site can remember things about you. First-party cookies are set by the site you're visiting, which here is ibuildfreewebsites.com. Third-party cookies are set by a different company's domain, like google.com or facebook.com, through tools that a site loads. Some cookies are deleted when you close your browser, and others stay until they expire or you delete them.
- Local storage works a lot like a cookie, but the information stays in your browser and isn't sent to the website automatically.
- Pixels and tags are small pieces of code, and sometimes tiny invisible images, that tell a company like Google or Meta that a page was viewed or that something happened on it, like a form being sent.
In this policy, "cookies" includes all of these.
3. How your choice works
Whenever my site is using analytics or advertising tools, a small banner appears at the bottom of the screen the first time you visit, with three buttons: Accept, Decline and Settings. If my site isn't using any of those tools, there's nothing to ask you about, so you won't see a banner at all, but the Cookie settings link at the bottom of every page always works and shows you what's turned on. The banner doesn't block the page, and Accept and Decline are the same size, so saying no is just as easy as saying yes.
- Before you choose, my site uses only the essential item described in section 4, and no analytics or advertising tools load. If you ignore the banner, nothing changes, and those tools stay off.
- If you click Accept, analytics and advertising tools load on the page you're on and on the pages you visit after that.
- If you click Decline, analytics and advertising tools stay off, and my site saves only your choice.
- If you click Settings, you can turn Analytics and Advertising on or off separately. Both start off, and only the ones you turn on will load.
- To change your mind later, click Cookie settings at the bottom of any page. When you turn a category off, its tools stop loading from your next page view, and my site deletes the cookies those tools saved on my domain that my site can reach (like
_ga,_gcl_auand_fbp). My site can't delete cookies that Google or Meta saved on their own domains, so you can remove those in your browser settings or with the tools in section 7. - If your browser blocks local storage, my site can't remember your choice, so it treats you as having said no, and you may see the banner again on later visits.
- I'll ask you again after 12 months, or sooner if I add a new tool or start using cookies in a new way.
Your choice applies only to the browser and device you make it on, so if you use my site on a phone and a laptop, you'll be asked on each one.
If you allow analytics but not advertising, I use Google's consent settings to tell Google not to use advertising cookies or use your visit for ads. Google Analytics then measures site use only.
4. The cookies my site uses
Not every tool below is turned on all the time, and a tool that isn't turned on never loads, even if you click Accept. Cookie settings at the bottom of every page shows which ones my site is using right now.
The names and durations below are the ones the providers publish. Providers can change their cookies without telling me, so I check this list when I add or remove a tool and at least once a year. You may not see every cookie listed, because some only appear in certain situations, like arriving from an ad, and some browsers, like Safari and Firefox, block many third-party cookies by default.
Essential (always on)
These keep my site working and remember the choices you make about cookies. They can't be turned off in Cookie settings, and they don't track you.
| Name | Provider | Type | What it does | How long it lasts | Loads before you agree? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ibfw_consent |
iBuildFreeWebsites (my site) | Local storage, first-party | Remembers whether you accepted or declined analytics and advertising cookies, and when you chose, so the banner doesn't keep popping up | Until you change your choice or clear your browser's storage for my site. I ask again after 12 months. | Yes, because it's essential. It stays in your browser and isn't sent anywhere. |
ibfw_consent_toast |
iBuildFreeWebsites (my site) | Session storage, first-party | Remembers for a moment that you just changed your cookie choices, so I can show you a "saved" message after the page reloads | Deleted as soon as the page reloads, or when you close the tab | No, it's only set after you turn something off. |
My site doesn't use any other cookies or storage before you make a choice. My forms catch spam with a hidden "honeypot" field, which doesn't use cookies.
Analytics (off unless you allow it)
If you allow analytics, I use Google Analytics 4 to see how people find and use my site, like which pages they visit, how long they stay, what kind of device they use and roughly where they are. I see totals and trends, not your name. Google uses your IP address to estimate your general location. I don't send Google your name, email address or anything you type into my forms, and I set Google Analytics to keep detailed data for 2 months.
| Name | Provider | Type | What it does | How long it lasts | Loads before you agree? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
_ga |
First-party cookie | Tells one visitor's browser apart from another's, so visits can be counted | Up to 2 years (Google's default), renewed each time you visit | No. Only after you allow analytics. | |
_ga_<ID> (for example, _ga_ABC123) |
First-party cookie | Keeps track of your current visit (session) | Up to 2 years (Google's default), renewed each time you visit | No. Only after you allow analytics. |
Google processes this information under its own policies. You can learn more at How Google uses information from sites or apps that use its services.
Advertising (off unless you allow it)
If you allow advertising, I use Google Ads and the Meta Pixel (from the company behind Facebook and Instagram). They help me see whether my ads lead to people joining my waitlist, and they let me show my ads to people who've visited my site before. Google, Meta and other third parties may use cookies, pixels and similar technology on my site to collect information about your visit. They may use it to measure ads and to show you ads, including on other websites and apps, and they may collect information about your activity over time and across different websites. If you're signed in to a Google, Facebook or Instagram account, they may connect this information to your account, depending on your settings with them.
Google Ads
| Name | Provider | Type | What it does | How long it lasts | Loads before you agree? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
_gcl_au |
First-party cookie | Helps Google connect an ad someone saw or clicked with a later sign-up on my site (conversion tracking) | 90 days | No. Only after you allow advertising. | |
_gcl_aw |
First-party cookie | Saves the click ID when you arrive from one of my Google ads, so the ad can be credited | 90 days | No. Only after you allow advertising. | |
IDE |
Google (doubleclick.net) | Third-party cookie | Used to show and measure ads, including showing my ads to people who've visited my site | 24 months in the US (13 months in the European Economic Area and the UK) | No. Only after you allow advertising. |
test_cookie |
Google (doubleclick.net) | Third-party cookie | Checks whether your browser accepts cookies | 15 minutes | No. Only after you allow advertising. |
Other Google advertising cookies (like NID, GCL_AW_P and GCL_AU_P) |
Google (google.com, googleadservices.com, doubleclick.net) | Third-party cookies | May be read or set when Google's ad tools load, to measure ads, show ads and prevent fraud | Usually 90 days to 6 months | No. Only after you allow advertising. |
Google publishes its full list at business.safety.google/
Meta Pixel
| Name | Provider | Type | What it does | How long it lasts | Loads before you agree? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
_fbp |
Meta | First-party cookie | Identifies your browser so Meta can measure my ads and show my ads to people who've visited my site | About 90 days | No. Only after you allow advertising. |
_fbc |
Meta | First-party cookie | Saves the click ID when you arrive from one of my Facebook or Instagram ads, so the ad can be credited | About 90 days | No. Only after you allow advertising. |
fr and other Meta cookies |
Meta (facebook.com, instagram.com) | Third-party cookies | Used by Meta to show, measure and improve ads, especially if you have a Facebook or Instagram account | Varies (fr lasts about 90 days) |
No. Only after you allow advertising. |
Meta explains its cookies in the Meta Cookies Policy.
5. Global Privacy Control and Do Not Track
Global Privacy Control. Global Privacy Control (GPC) is a setting in some browsers and browser extensions that tells websites you don't want your personal information sold or shared. You can learn more at globalprivacycontrol.org. If your browser sends a GPC signal, my site treats it as your choice to decline analytics and advertising cookies, so neither one loads, and you won't be asked to accept them. Advertising cookies stay off on that browser for as long as the signal is on. If you'd like to help me improve my site, you can still turn on analytics yourself in Cookie settings.
Do Not Track. Some browsers can send a "Do Not Track" signal. Because there's no common standard for how websites should respond to it, my site doesn't change what it does when it receives one. Either way, my site doesn't load any analytics or advertising tools unless you choose to allow them.
6. Things my site doesn't use
My site doesn't use session recording or "heatmap" tools, chat widgets, social media "like" or "share" buttons, or CAPTCHA services, and it doesn't load fonts from other companies. It also doesn't embed videos, maps or social media posts from other companies right now. If I add something like that later, I'll update this policy first, and wherever I can, I'll set it up so it doesn't load other companies' cookies until you agree.
7. Other ways to control cookies
Cookie settings on my site is the simplest way to make your choice, but you have other options too.
- Your browser. Most browsers let you see, block and delete cookies and other site data, usually under Settings, then Privacy. If you clear my site's data, your cookie choice is erased too, and you'll see the banner again on your next visit.
- Google. You can turn off personalized ads from Google, stop Google Analytics from measuring your visits on any website with the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on, and read how Google uses cookies.
- Meta. You can change your ad preferences in your Facebook or Instagram settings, and the Meta Cookies Policy explains the controls Meta offers.
- The advertising industry. The Digital Advertising Alliance's WebChoices tool and YourAdChoices.com let you opt out of personalized ads from many participating companies at once. These opt-outs are saved as cookies, so they only work on the browser where you set them, and clearing your cookies undoes them. Opting out doesn't mean you'll see fewer ads, only that the ads won't be based on your browsing.
8. Websites I build for clients
This policy covers only my own site. I don't put my analytics or advertising tools on the websites I build or host for clients. If a client's website uses cookies, that business is responsible for telling its visitors about them and getting any permission the law requires, and its own notice applies.
9. Changes to this policy
When I add or remove a tool or change how my site uses cookies, I'll update this policy and change the "Last updated" date at the top. If the change means my site will use cookies in a new way, I'll ask for your choice again.
10. Contact me
If you have questions about this policy, please use the contact form at the bottom of my homepage, reply to any email I've sent you, or write to Hawkins Holdings LLC, Attn: Privacy, {{MAILING_ADDRESS}}.