Cookie Policy
A cookie is a tiny text file a website saves on your device. It can't run programs or do anything on its own. Here's exactly what we use—and what we don't.
How our consent system works
All non-essential cookies are blocked by default. We don't assume consent because you scrolled past something or clicked the X. Analytics, marketing, embeds, and comment cookies only load if you actively click Accept—or accept individual categories via Manage Preferences.
You can change or withdraw your choices at any time using the “Cookie Preferences” link at the bottom of every page.
Essential cookies
These keep the site working. They store your cookie banner choice and dark mode preference in your browser's local storage. You can't opt out of these—without them the site breaks.
Analytics cookies
If you accept analytics, we load Google Analytics 4 via Google Tag Manager. This tells us which articles people read, how long they stay, and broadly where readers are coming from (country level, not your address). We use this to understand what content is actually useful. You as an individual are never identified.
Marketing and advertising cookies
If we run display ads in the future, accepting this category allows ad network partners to serve relevant ads and measure performance. Right now this category is inactive—no ad scripts are loading. When it becomes active, we'll update this page.
Third-party embeds
When an article includes an embedded video or social post, that content is blocked by a placeholder until you consent to the Embeds category. This is because platforms like YouTube and Twitter set their own cookies the moment their content loads. One click on the placeholder loads the content and records your consent for that session.
Comments (Cusdis)
Our comment system uses Cusdis. Accepting this category allows Cusdis to store your name and comment text to display replies. It's lightweight—no advertising cookies, no cross-site tracking.
What we don't use
No advertising cookies before consent. No tracking pixels that load before you've made a choice. No screen-hijacking pop-ups or auto-playing video ads.
Controlling cookies yourself
Beyond our banner, you can delete or block cookies directly in your browser settings at any time. If you use Brave, Firefox, or DuckDuckGo—or have an extension like uBlock Origin—your privacy preferences are already being enforced at the browser level, and our system respects them automatically.
