Cookie Policy

Last updated: 4 September 2026 · Companion document to our privacy policy. Change your choice at any time with the cookie settings link.

1. What a cookie actually is

A cookie is a small text file a website asks your browser to keep, so that the next request can be linked to the last one. Related technologies do the same job by other means: local storage keeps data in the browser until it is cleared, and a pixel is a tiny invisible image whose retrieval tells a server that a page was viewed. We use the word "cookie" throughout this page to cover all of them.

2. How consent works here

On your first visit you get a banner with two clear options and no pre-ticked boxes. Until you choose:

No analytics cookie is written.
No advertising cookie is written.
Google tags run in Consent Mode v2 with ad_storage, ad_user_data, ad_personalization and analytics_storage all set to denied, plus ads_data_redaction enabled.

Choosing Essential only is a complete refusal — we do not treat continued scrolling, or closing the banner, as agreement. Choosing Accept all sends a consent update to Google, at which point the cookies in sections 4 and 5 may be set.

3. Strictly necessary storage

Set without consent, because the site cannot do its job without it. This category contains exactly one item.

Name	Type	Provider	Purpose	Lifetime
`cluckology.consent.v1`	Local storage	Cluckology (first party)	Records whether you accepted or declined non-essential cookies, so the banner does not reappear on every page.	12 months

Note that this is the one thing we must remember in order to respect a refusal. Clearing it means we have to ask again.

4. Analytics cookies — consent required

Used to understand which articles people read and where the site is slow. We use the shortest retention Google offers and do not enable any cross-device or user-identification feature.

Name	Provider	Purpose	Lifetime
`_ga`	Google Analytics	Distinguishes one browser from another for visit counting.	2 years
`_ga_`	Google Analytics	Maintains session state for the GA4 property.	2 years
`_gid`	Google Analytics	Distinguishes browsers for 24-hour aggregate reporting.	24 hours
`_gat_gtag_`	Google Analytics	Throttles the request rate to Google's servers.	1 minute

5. Advertising cookies — consent required

Used to cap how often you see the same advert, to measure whether an advert led to a visit, and — only with your permission — to personalise which adverts appear.

Name	Provider	Purpose	Lifetime
`_gcl_au`	Google Ads	Stores and tracks ad conversions for Google conversion linker.	90 days
`IDE`	Google (doubleclick.net)	Measures ad performance and personalises ads across sites in Google's network.	13 months
`test_cookie`	Google (doubleclick.net)	Checks whether the browser accepts cookies at all.	15 minutes
`NID`	Google	Carries advertising and preference settings across Google services.	6 months
`__gsas`, `__gpi`	Google	Ad-serving and frequency-capping identifiers used when display ads are shown.	Up to 13 months

Exact names and lifetimes are set by Google and can change. Where a discrepancy exists between this table and Google's own documentation, Google's is authoritative — tell us and we will correct the table.

6. What we deliberately do not use

No social-media tracking pixels — there are no share widgets on this site.
No session-recording, heatmap or mouse-tracking tools.
No fingerprinting, and no attempt to identify you when you refuse cookies.
No third-party web fonts; all typography uses fonts already on your device.
No cookie walls — refusing cookies gives you the identical site.

7. Managing cookies in your browser

Independently of the banner, every major browser lets you block or delete cookies. Blocking all cookies will not break this site, since the only first-party storage we rely on is the consent record.

8. Industry opt-outs

These switch off personalised advertising across many companies at once, not just on this site:

9. Changes

If we add a cookie category we will update this page and reset the consent banner, so you are asked again rather than opted in by default.

Questions about anything on this page: privacy@trafficstacklynx.net.