Cookie Policy

Last updated: 7 September 2026

This Cookie Policy explains how VAELIVA uses cookies and similar technologies on vaeliva.com (the “Website”). It should be read together with our Privacy Policy, which provides further information about how personal data is processed.

1. What Are Cookies and Similar Technologies?

Cookies are small text files that a website can store in a visitor’s browser. They may be used to provide essential functions, maintain security, remember preferences, record privacy choices or support optional analytics and marketing functions.

Similar technologies can include browser storage, pixels, tags, scripts and device identifiers. Not every technology used to operate or analyse a website stores information on the visitor’s device. VAELIVA’s current first-party analytics, for example, does not use cookies.

2. Current Cookie Configuration

VAELIVA currently uses cookies only where they are technically necessary to remember privacy and consent choices. During a technical review conducted on 7 September 2026, a fresh visit before any choice in the cookie banner did not create an accessible cookie or browser-storage entry. No Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, Pinterest Tag or Awin tracking script was loaded on the Website.

After a visitor makes a choice in the cookie banner, the following strictly necessary cookie may be stored:

The exact technical behaviour can vary with browser settings, consent configuration and future Website changes. VAELIVA reviews and updates this list when relevant technologies are added, removed or reconfigured.

3. Consent Management with CookieYes

VAELIVA uses CookieYes, provided by CookieYes Limited, to display the cookie banner, record privacy choices and make the cookie settings available. The strictly necessary cookieyes-consent cookie is used to remember whether a visitor has accepted, rejected or configured optional categories.

Depending on the configuration, the consent record may contain a consent status, category-specific choices, a consent identifier, the date and time of the choice, the Website domain and limited technical information required to document and respect the choice.

The storage of and access to the information contained in the strictly necessary cookieyes-consent cookie is permitted without prior consent under the exception in Section 165(3) of the Austrian Telecommunications Act 2021 (TKG 2021). The cookie is strictly necessary to remember and implement the privacy choice expressly requested by the visitor.

To the extent that personal data is processed in connection with recording, documenting and respecting the visitor’s consent choices, the legal bases are Article 6(1)(c) GDPR and, where applicable, Article 6(1)(f) GDPR. Our legitimate interests are operating a reliable consent mechanism, documenting privacy choices and ensuring that optional technologies are activated only in accordance with those choices.

Further information is available in the CookieYes Privacy Policy.

4. Website Analytics without Cookies

Independent Analytics

VAELIVA uses the WordPress plugin Independent Analytics to understand Website use and the performance of editorial content and campaigns. In the current configuration, Independent Analytics does not store analytics cookies or other identifiers in the visitor’s browser. The analytics data is created and stored in VAELIVA’s WordPress database and is not sent to Independent Analytics as an external analytics provider.

The plugin may record pages viewed, time of access, referrer, visit and session information, approximate geographic region, device and browser information, and campaign parameters contained in the requested URL. These can include utm_source, utm_medium, utm_campaign, utm_content and vaeliva_house.

To recognise repeat visits without a cookie, Independent Analytics transiently uses the IP address together with the browser’s user-agent information and a rotating salt to create a one-way hashed visitor identifier. According to the provider, the raw IP address is not stored in its analytics database and the hash cannot be reversed to recover the original values. This process does not place information on or retrieve information from the visitor’s device.

Further information about the processed data, purposes, legal basis and retention is provided in the VAELIVA Privacy Policy. Information about the plugin’s privacy design is available from Independent Analytics.

5. Pinterest

VAELIVA uses a protected server-side Pinterest API integration to publish Pins that have been individually reviewed or approved by the VAELIVA account owner. Public Website visitors are not asked to connect a Pinterest account, and the integration does not collect their Pinterest passwords, login credentials or Pinterest session cookies.

The current Website does not embed the Pinterest Tag, Pinterest conversion tracking, Pinterest advertising pixels, a Pinterest “Save” button or another Pinterest widget that tracks visitors on vaeliva.com. The server-side publishing integration therefore does not itself set Pinterest cookies in the browsers of Website visitors.

Links from Pinterest to VAELIVA may contain campaign parameters. Independent Analytics can read these parameters from the requested URL without using an analytics cookie. If you deliberately follow a link from VAELIVA to Pinterest, you leave the Website and Pinterest’s own privacy and cookie rules apply. Further information is available in the Pinterest Cookie Policy.

6. Affiliate Links, Awin and Lampenwelt

6.1 No Awin cookie on an ordinary VAELIVA page view

VAELIVA participates in the Awin affiliate network and currently uses affiliate links for Lampenwelt Austria and Lampenwelt Switzerland. In the current implementation, VAELIVA does not load an Awin tracking script and Awin does not set a cookie merely because a visitor views a VAELIVA page.

6.2 Tracking begins after a deliberate affiliate click

When you deliberately click a labelled affiliate link, you leave VAELIVA. The link first contacts an Awin tracking domain, such as awin1.com, and then redirects you to the relevant Lampenwelt shop. During this external referral process, Awin may use cookies or similar technologies to identify the referral, associate it with VAELIVA and determine whether a subsequent transaction qualifies for a commission.

According to Awin, its technologies can include tracking-domain cookies, advertiser journey tags and device fingerprinting. The relevant Lampenwelt shop may use an Awin Journey Tag or related technology in its own environment to record and validate a referred transaction.

The affiliate link can also contain reporting references describing the relevant VAELIVA campaign, Pin or house, room and product. These references identify editorial content and products; VAELIVA does not intentionally include a visitor’s name, email address, postal address or payment information in them.

Further information is available from:

• Awin Privacy Policy
• Awin tracking information and opt-out
• Lampenwelt Austria Privacy Policy
• Lampenwelt Switzerland Privacy Policy

7. Functional, Analytics and Marketing Cookies

VAELIVA does not currently intentionally activate separate optional functional cookies, third-party analytics cookies, advertising cookies, behavioural-targeting cookies or social-media tracking cookies on the Website.

• Google Analytics: not currently used.
• Google Tag Manager: not currently loaded.
• Pinterest Tag or Pinterest conversion tracking: not currently used on the Website.
• Awin tracking script on VAELIVA: not currently loaded; Awin becomes relevant only after a deliberate affiliate click.
• Independent Analytics: used without analytics cookies in the current configuration.

If VAELIVA later introduces an optional technology that requires access to or storage of information on a visitor’s device, the relevant category will be added to the consent mechanism and, where required, the technology will not be activated until valid consent has been obtained. This Cookie Policy and the cookie table will also be updated.

8. Managing or Withdrawing Your Preferences

Where optional categories are available, you can use the CookieYes settings interface on the Website to accept or reject optional cookies, select individual categories, change a previous choice or withdraw consent.

Withdrawal does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal. Strictly necessary cookies cannot always be disabled through the consent interface because they are required to record and respect the visitor’s privacy choice.

9. Browser Settings

Most browsers allow you to inspect, delete or block cookies through their privacy settings. You can therefore delete cookies stored for vaeliva.com directly in your browser. Depending on your browser, you may also be able to clear local storage and other Website data.

Please note that deleting the consent cookie means the Website can no longer remember your previous choice and may display the consent interface again. Blocking all cookies may also affect functionality that depends on strictly necessary storage.

10. Cookie Duration

Session cookies normally expire when the browser session ends. Persistent cookies remain for a specified period unless they are deleted earlier. The CookieYes consent cookie is currently configured or expected to remain for up to approximately one year. Browser settings, manual deletion and future Website configuration changes can shorten this period.

11. Changes to This Cookie Policy

VAELIVA may update this Cookie Policy if Website functionality, the consent mechanism, analytics configuration, Pinterest integration, affiliate programmes, service providers or applicable legal requirements change. The current version will be published on the Website with its effective date.

12. Contact

If you have questions about cookies, privacy or data protection, contact:

VAELIVA
Christian Merta
Blumengasse 15
8580 Köflach
Austria
Email: mail@vaeliva.com