Metopedia and its partners may use cookies and similar technologies to ensure site security, operate the wiki, remember preferences, analyze performance, and deliver personalized advertisements where advertising services are enabled. Users can customize optional cookie settings or withdraw consent at any time through the cookie preference controls.

A cookie is a small piece of data stored by a browser. Similar technologies include local storage, session storage, cache data, browser tokens, security tokens, and comparable browser-side storage used to provide, secure, measure, or personalize a website service.

Summary

Cookie or storage type	Purpose	Consent category	Required for site function
Required cookies	Page delivery, login sessions, editing, request validation, account security, anti-abuse checks, and basic MediaWiki operation.	Not optional	Yes
Preference cookies	Interface settings, language, skin, display options, editor preferences, and cookie preference selections.	Preferences	Sometimes
Statistics cookies	Site usage measurement, performance analysis, error diagnosis, traffic analysis, and service improvement.	Statistics	No
Marketing cookies	Personalized advertisements, ad measurement, frequency limits, remarketing, and sponsored content where advertising services are enabled.	Marketing	No
Third-party service cookies	May be set by infrastructure, security, analytics, advertising, embedded media, or content-delivery providers.	Depends on service	Depends on service

Required cookies

Required cookies are used to make the wiki function and to keep the site secure. They support actions such as loading pages, logging in, editing, maintaining a session, preventing forged requests, remembering account state, and protecting the site from abuse.

Metopedia may use required cookies or similar storage for:

page delivery;
login sessions;
account authentication;
edit sessions;
edit tokens;
request validation;
spam prevention;
abuse prevention;
security checks;
failed-login protection;
bot filtering;
page rendering and site reliability.

Required cookies are not optional through the cookie preference panel because the site may not function correctly without them. Disabling required cookies in a browser may prevent login, editing, uploads, account preferences, security checks, or other core features from working.

Preferences

Preference cookies or account-stored preferences may remember settings chosen by a user. These may include:

site skin;
light or dark mode;
language options;
editor preferences;
table or interface settings;
display options;
logged-in user preferences;
accessibility-related interface choices;
cookie preference selections.

Preference cookies improve usability. Some preference settings may be stored in the user account instead of in a browser cookie.

Statistics

Statistics cookies and scripts may be used to understand how the site is used, measure performance, diagnose errors, evaluate traffic sources, and improve site reliability.

Statistics services may include tools such as Google Analytics or similar measurement services where enabled. These tools may collect technical data such as page views, approximate location, device or browser information, referrer information, interaction events, and performance signals.

Statistics cookies are optional. If the cookie preference panel is active, statistics scripts should be blocked unless the user consents to the Statistics category.

Marketing

Marketing cookies and scripts may be used to deliver personalized advertisements, measure advertising performance, limit repeated ads, support sponsored content, or improve ad relevance where advertising services are enabled.

Marketing services may include tools such as Google AdSense or similar advertising services. These services may process technical identifiers, ad interaction data, browser or device information, approximate location, referrer information, and other signals described in the service provider’s policies.

Marketing cookies are optional. If the cookie preference panel is active, marketing scripts should be blocked unless the user consents to the Marketing category.

Security and anti-abuse services

Metopedia may use cookies, tokens, rate-limit signals, session identifiers, or similar mechanisms to protect the site. These tools may help detect or prevent:

spam;
vandalism;
repeated failed login attempts;
automated abuse;
malicious uploads;
forged requests;
session hijacking;
abuse of forms or account creation;
attempts to bypass restrictions.

Security cookies are used to preserve account security, source integrity, and site availability. Some security or infrastructure cookies may be set by service providers such as Cloudflare or other hosting, security, or content-delivery services.

Third-party services

Third-party cookies may occur when Metopedia uses infrastructure, security, analytics, advertising, embedded media, fonts, maps, video, code previews, document viewers, or content-delivery services provided by another party.

Examples of third-party service categories include:

hosting or server infrastructure;
content-delivery networks;
security and anti-abuse services;
analytics or performance measurement;
advertising and ad measurement services;
embedded media viewers;
email or message-routing services;
search indexing or crawler services.

Third-party services may process technical data under their own terms and privacy practices. Optional third-party analytics or marketing services should be controlled through the cookie preference panel where technically feasible.

Consent and control

Metopedia’s cookie preference panel may provide controls for the following optional categories:

Category	Description
Preferences	Optional cookies used to remember interface choices, language, display settings, editor preferences, and cookie preference selections.
Statistics	Optional cookies and scripts used to analyze site usage, measure performance, diagnose errors, understand traffic sources, and improve reliability.
Marketing	Optional cookies and scripts used to deliver personalized advertisements, measure advertising performance, limit repeated ads, or support sponsored content.

Required cookies used for security, page delivery, login sessions, abuse prevention, and basic MediaWiki operation cannot be disabled through the cookie preference panel.

Users can change or withdraw consent by selecting Manage cookie preferences in the site footer, clearing browser site data, or adjusting browser cookie settings.

Browser controls

Users can control cookies through browser settings. Most browsers allow users to:

block cookies;
delete existing cookies;
block third-party cookies;
clear site data;
use private browsing modes;
inspect stored cookies;
disable local storage;
set site-specific permissions.

Blocking or deleting cookies may require users to log in again and may break editing, preferences, upload tools, spam checks, account features, or security protections.

Global Privacy Control and opt-out signals

Some browsers or extensions may send privacy preference signals such as Global Privacy Control. Where legally applicable and technically recognized, Metopedia may treat such signals as a request to avoid sale or sharing of personal information for advertising or cross-context behavioral advertising.

Cookie duration

Cookie duration varies by function.

Category	Typical duration	Notes
Required session cookies	Until the browser session ends or the session expires.	Used for login, editing, request validation, and session continuity.
Login cookies	Until logout, expiration, or deletion by the user.	Used to keep a user signed in.
Preference cookies	Until changed, expired, or deleted.	Used to remember interface choices and cookie preference selections.
Security cookies	Short-term or persistent depending on the security function.	Used to prevent abuse and protect accounts.
Statistics cookies	Duration depends on the analytics tool if enabled.	Used for site measurement and improvement when consent is given.
Marketing cookies	Duration depends on the advertising tool if enabled.	Used for advertising, ad measurement, personalization, or sponsored content when consent is given.

Local storage and similar technologies

Metopedia or its enabled tools may use local storage, session storage, browser cache, or comparable mechanisms. These technologies may support editor behavior, interface state, previews, security checks, analytics, advertising, or performance.

The same general principle applies: required storage supports site function and security, while optional statistics or marketing storage should be controlled through consent where technically feasible.

Logged-in and logged-out users

Logged-in users may receive cookies connected to account sessions, preferences, editing tokens, and account security. Logged-out users may still receive required cookies or storage related to security, anti-abuse protection, preferences, or normal page delivery.

Public editing activity, page history, logs, and account-related information are covered by Metopedia:Privacy policy.

Changes to cookie use

Metopedia may change cookie use when the software, extensions, security tools, analytics configuration, advertising configuration, hosting setup, or embedded services change. Material changes should be reflected on this page or in the privacy policy.

Contact

Cookie questions may be sent to [email protected] with the subject line Cookie Question. Requests should describe the page, browser behavior, cookie name if known, and the concern.

Cookie Policy