This Cookie Policy explains what cookies are, which cookies Hostease uses on hostease.com and cn.hostease.com, and how you can control them. This Policy supplements our Privacy Policy, which provides further detail on how we handle personal data more generally.
1. What are cookies?
Cookies are small text files that a website places on your device (computer, tablet, or mobile phone) when you visit. They allow the website to remember information about your visit — such as whether you are logged in or what items you have added to a shopping cart — and to distinguish you from other users.
Cookies set directly by Hostease are called first-party cookies. Cookies set by third-party services that appear on our pages (such as analytics or payment providers) are called third-party cookies. Both types may be session cookies (deleted when you close your browser) or persistent cookies (retained on your device for a defined period after you close your browser).
2. Cookies we use
The following table describes the categories of cookies used on hostease.com and cn.hostease.com, their purposes, and their approximate duration.
| Category | Cookie name / identifier | Purpose | Duration | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strictly necessary | Session cookie (e.g., PHPSESSID) |
Maintains your login session in the client area and control panels. Without this cookie you cannot remain signed in. | Session (deleted when browser is closed) | First-party |
| Strictly necessary | CSRF token cookie | Protects forms against cross-site request forgery attacks. Required for the security of account operations. | Session | First-party |
| Strictly necessary | he-cookie-accepted (local storage key) |
Records that you have acknowledged our cookie notice, so the banner is not shown on subsequent visits. Stored in browser local storage, not as a cookie file. | 1 year (cleared when browser local storage is cleared) | First-party (local storage) |
| Functional | Language / display preference cookies | Remembers your preferred language and display settings so you do not need to reset them each visit. | Up to 1 year | First-party |
| Analytics | Google Analytics (_ga, _gid, _gat) |
Collects anonymised data on how visitors use our website — pages viewed, time spent, traffic sources — to help us improve the site. IP addresses are anonymised before storage. | _ga: 2 years; _gid: 24 hours; _gat: 1 minute |
Third-party (Google LLC) |
| Analytics | Baidu Analytics (_hmt_*) |
Collects anonymised usage statistics for visitors from China to help us understand traffic patterns and improve the site. | Up to 2 years | Third-party (Baidu, Inc.) |
| Marketing | Affiliate / referral tracking cookies | If you arrive at our site via an affiliate or referral link, a cookie is set to attribute the referral so that our affiliate partner can be credited. No personal data beyond the referral source is stored. | Up to 90 days | First-party |
We do not currently use cookies for retargeting advertising. If this changes in the future, we will update this Policy, display the cookie notice again, and — where required — seek your consent before setting any such cookies.
3. Third-party cookies
In addition to the third-party analytics cookies described above, the following services may set their own cookies when you interact with features on our website:
- PayPal — when you choose to pay via PayPal, PayPal's scripts may set cookies on your device. These are governed by PayPal's Privacy Statement.
- Alipay — when you choose to pay via Alipay, Alipay's scripts may set cookies. These are governed by Alipay's Privacy Policy.
- Content Delivery Networks (CDN) — we may use CDN providers to serve static assets. These providers may set performance or load-balancing cookies with a very short lifespan.
Hostease does not control the cookies set by third parties and is not responsible for the content of their privacy policies. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party services you interact with.
4. Managing and disabling cookies
You can control cookies through your browser settings. Most browsers allow you to:
- View the cookies stored on your device and delete them individually or all at once.
- Block all cookies, or block only third-party cookies.
- Set your browser to notify you before a cookie is stored.
For instructions specific to your browser, visit www.aboutcookies.org or the help section of your browser.
Please note: disabling strictly necessary cookies — such as session and CSRF cookies — will prevent you from logging in to your account or using key features of our website. We recommend leaving strictly necessary cookies enabled.
To opt out of Google Analytics tracking specifically, you can install the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.
5. The cookie notice on our site
When you visit hostease.com for the first time (or after clearing your cookies or local storage), a cookie notice banner is displayed at the bottom of the page. The banner informs you that we use cookies and provides a link to this Cookie Policy.
When you click "Accept", we store the key
he-cookie-accepted in your browser's local storage to
record your choice. This prevents the banner from being shown on
subsequent visits for up to one year. When you click
"Decline", the banner is dismissed and no analytics
cookies are set; the banner will reappear on your next visit.
Strictly necessary cookies (session and CSRF cookies) are active regardless of your choice — they are essential for the website to function and do not require consent. Analytics cookies (Google Analytics and Baidu Analytics) are only active after you click "Accept". If you click "Decline" or close the banner without clicking "Accept", no analytics cookies are set.
6. Changes to this Policy
We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our cookie usage, technology, or legal requirements. Material changes will be announced by posting a notice on our website and — where required — re-displaying the cookie consent banner. We encourage you to review this Policy periodically. The "Last updated" date at the top of this page indicates when this Policy was most recently revised.
7. Contact
If you have any questions about our use of cookies or this Cookie Policy,
please contact us at:
Email: privacy@hostease.com
Hostease LLC (Delaware, USA)