Last Updated: September 27, 2026
1. Introduction
This Cookie Policy explains what cookies are, how English, no kidding ("we," "us," or "our") uses them on our website and Services, and what choices you have regarding their use. This policy should be read alongside our Privacy Policy, which provides more detailed information about how we handle your personal data.
It also covers Reading, no kidding (reading.englishnokidding.com), which shares your English, no kidding account — see Section 7.
We are committed to providing you with transparent and clear information about the cookies we use, empowering you to make informed decisions.
2. What Are Cookies?
Cookies are small text files that are placed on your computer, tablet, or mobile phone when you visit a website. They are widely used to make websites work, or work more efficiently, as well as to provide information to the owners of the site.
Cookies can be:
- Session cookies: These are temporary and expire once you close your browser.
- Persistent cookies: These remain on your device for a set period or until you delete them.
- First-party cookies: These are set by the website you are visiting (i.e., by us).
- Third-party cookies: These are set by a domain other than the one you are visiting (e.g., by our analytics partners).
3. How We Use Cookies
We use cookies for several essential purposes, all aimed at providing you with a secure, effective, and user-friendly educational experience. We classify our cookies into the following categories:
- Strictly Necessary Cookies: Essential for the basic operation of our Services.
- Performance, Analytics and Ad Measurement Cookies: Help us understand how you use our Services so we can improve them, and whether our ads work.
- Preference Cookies and Storage: Remember choices you make, such as light or dark mode.
We do not show ads on our Services. With your consent, a Google Ads tag measures whether visits and sign-ups came from our own Google Ads campaigns (see Section 4B).
4. Types of Cookies We Use
Below is a detailed explanation of the types of cookies we use and why.
A. Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are essential for you to navigate our Services and use their features, such as accessing secure areas (like your user account) and protecting against security threats (like cross-site request forgery).
- Consent: These cookies do not require your consent under GDPR and Italian law as they are indispensable for the functionality of the service you have requested. They are loaded by default.
- Purpose: User authentication, session management, security.
- Legal Basis: Our legitimate interest in providing a functional and secure service.
B. Performance, Analytics and Ad Measurement Cookies
These cookies collect information about how users interact with our Services, such as which pages are visited most often, which apps are used, and if users receive error messages. Google Analytics identifies browsers with a pseudonymous ID, not your name or email; we only look at aggregated reports, and use them solely to improve how our Services work.
- Consent: These cookies are non-essential and will only be used if you give us your explicit consent through our cookie consent banner.
- Purpose: To analyze user behavior, measure service performance, and enhance our educational offerings.
- Providers: Google Analytics 4 and the Google Ads tag, both loaded through Google Tag Manager. Google Analytics 4 does not log or store IP addresses. The Google Ads tag measures conversions from our campaigns; depending on your Google account settings, Google may also use it to build advertising audiences under its own privacy policy.
C. Preference Cookies and Storage
These remember choices you make while using the Services — light or dark mode, whether the sidebar is open, which announcements you dismissed, and your progress in some games — so you do not have to make them again.
- Consent: They only serve the feature you are using and are never used to track you, so they count as technical cookies under the Garante's cookie guidelines (10 June 2021) and do not require consent.
- Purpose: To keep the choices you made.
5. Your Choices and How to Manage Cookies
You decide whether analytics cookies are used. You can manage your choice in the following ways:
A. Our Cookie Consent Tool
When you first visit our website, you will see a cookie banner that allows you to:
- Accept: allow analytics and ad measurement cookies.
- Decline: refuse them. Only technical cookies and storage are then used.
Until you choose, no analytics cookies are used and no request is made to Google Analytics. You can change or withdraw your choice at any time from the “Cookie settings” link in the footer of every page; withdrawing deletes the analytics cookies already set. Your choice is stored for 6 months, after which we ask again.
B. Browser Settings
You can also control and manage cookies through your web browser settings. Most browsers allow you to view, manage, delete, and block cookies for a website. Please note that if you delete or block all cookies (including strictly necessary ones), our Services may not function correctly.
6. Detailed Cookie List
The table below provides more information about the specific cookies we use. This list is updated regularly.
| Cookie Name(s) | Provider | Category | Purpose | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
__nk_session | English, no kidding | Strictly Necessary | Keeps you signed in. Shared with Reading, no kidding on englishnokidding.com, so one sign-in works in both. | 5 days |
firebase:* (browser storage) | Google Firebase | Strictly Necessary | Firebase sign-in state, including the anonymous sign-in a student's device uses to join a live session. | Until you sign out or clear it |
cookie_consent_v2 (browser storage) | English, no kidding | Strictly Necessary | Stores your answer to the cookie banner. | 6 months |
sidebar_state | English, no kidding | Preference | Remembers whether you left the sidebar open or closed. | 7 days |
enk-theme, enk-dismissed-announcements (browser storage) | English, no kidding | Preference | Remember light or dark mode, and announcements you dismissed. | Until you clear it |
enk_vocab_madness_recent_words, pq_session_verbs, sentence-scramble-saved-words (browser storage) | English, no kidding | Preference | Remember recent words and progress in some games, so they do not repeat. | Until you clear it (the last one: until you close the tab) |
_ga, _ga_<ID> | Performance & Analytics | Used by Google Analytics 4 to distinguish browsers and measure traffic. Only if you accept analytics cookies. | 2 years | |
_gcl_au | Ad Measurement | Set by the Google Ads conversion linker to tell whether a visit came from one of our ads. Only if you accept analytics cookies. | 90 days |
7. Reading, no kidding
Reading, no kidding uses only the technical cookies and browser storage listed below. It sets no analytics, advertising or other third-party cookies, so it does not show a consent banner: under the Garante's cookie guidelines (10 June 2021), technical cookies — including ones that remember a display choice you made — do not require consent. You can still clear them in your browser settings at any time.
| Name | Type | Purpose | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
__nk_session | Cookie, strictly necessary | Keeps you signed in. Shared across the suite's apps on englishnokidding.com, so one sign-in works in all of them. | 5 days |
sidebar_state | Cookie, technical (preference) | Remembers whether you left the dashboard sidebar open or closed. | 7 days |
theme | Browser storage, technical (preference) | Remembers whether you chose light or dark mode. | Until you clear it |
firebase:* | Browser storage, strictly necessary | Google Firebase sign-in state for teachers, and the anonymous sign-in a student's device uses to join a live lesson. | Until you sign out or clear it |
8. Changes to This Cookie Policy
We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time to reflect changes in technology, law, or our data collection practices. Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated "Last Updated" date. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.
9. Contact Us
If you have any questions about our use of cookies, please contact us.
Privacy contact:
Email: support@englishnokidding.com
For more information about your data rights, please see our Privacy Policy.