Cookie Policy
Last updated: February 2025
This page explains what cookies and similar storage the site uses, what each one does, and how you can get rid of them. It sits alongside our Privacy Policy, which covers the wider picture on data.
What a cookie actually is
A cookie is a small text file a website asks your browser to store. It lets the site remember something between page loads — that you're logged in, or that you've already dismissed a notice. Some are deleted when you close the browser; others stick around for a set period.
Cookies we use
Strictly necessary
These keep the site working. They handle things like session state for the admin area and CSRF protection on forms. The site doesn't function properly without them, and they don't track you across other websites.
Analytics
These tell us how many people visited, which articles got read, how long people stayed, and roughly which country they came from. We look at this in aggregate — we're interested in which topics work, not in identifying individual readers. Blocking these won't affect your experience of the site.
Advertising
If ads are shown, our ad partners may set their own cookies. These typically do two jobs: limiting how often you see the same advert, and measuring whether an ad was seen. Some partners may use them for interest-based advertising across sites, under their own privacy policies.
Preference
Small bits of storage that remember choices you've made, like dismissing a banner or a display preference.
Managing cookies
You can control cookies through your browser settings. Every major browser lets you view stored cookies, delete individual ones, block third-party cookies, or block all cookies entirely. The help section of your browser will walk you through it.
A couple of practical notes:
- Blocking strictly necessary cookies will break parts of the site, particularly the admin area.
- Blocking advertising cookies won't stop ads appearing — it just makes them less relevant.
- Deleting cookies logs you out of any site you were signed into, not just this one.
Do Not Track
Browsers offer a "Do Not Track" signal. There's still no agreed standard for how websites should respond to it, and we don't currently act on it. If that changes, this page will say so.
Changes
If we add or remove a cookie category, we'll update this page and change the date at the top.
Questions
Anything unclear, or want to know which specific cookies were set during your visit? Use the contact form.