Cookie notice.

Two layers, and only one of them needs your permission

Analytics on this site works in two tiers. The first runs for everyone and sets nothing on your device. The second is optional, sets cookies, and is the only reason you saw a banner at all.

Always on: counting, without cookies

I want to know which essays people read, so the site uses Cloudflare Web Analytics. It counts page views without cookies, without any identifier for you or your device, and without collecting personal data. It cannot follow you between sites, cannot build a profile, and cannot tell one visitor from another across visits.

Because it processes no personal data and stores nothing on your device, it does not require your consent under UK PECR or the GDPR, and it is not affected by your choice on the banner.

Only with your consent: Google Analytics

If you accept, Google Analytics sets cookies (typically _ga and _ga_*, which last up to two years) to distinguish visitors and measure how the site is used across a visit. I have enabled IP anonymisation and turned off Google's advertising features, so the data is not used to build advertising profiles.

If you reject, or simply ignore the banner, the Google Analytics script is never loaded and none of these cookies are set. Rejecting costs you nothing: the site works identically, and your visit is still counted by the cookieless layer above.

One thing that is not analytics

A single item of local storage, dm-cookie-consent, remembers whether you accepted or rejected, so you are not asked on every page. It contains nothing but that choice, stays on your device, and is never sent to me. No consent is required for it, because without it I could not honour your decision.

Embedded content

The podcast page embeds a Spotify player, which loads with that page so you can browse the back catalogue without an extra click. Spotify may set its own cookies when it loads, under its own policy rather than mine. The YouTube and SoundCloud players elsewhere on the site are different: those load only when you choose to press play.

Changing your mind

To withdraw or change your consent, clear this site's cookies and site data in your browser settings and reload the page. The banner will reappear and you can choose again. You can also block or delete cookies entirely in your browser; every major browser lets you do this, and doing so will not break this site.

Questions

Email me at dale@dalemcdermott.com. See also the privacy notice for the wider picture on how I handle personal data.