Cookie Policy

This policy explains what cookies are, which ones this site uses, and what your options are. It won't take long to read.

What a cookie actually is

A cookie is a small text file that a website places on your device when you visit. It gets sent back to the server on your next visit so the site can recognise you or remember your preferences. That's the whole mechanism. Cookies themselves can't run code, install software, or access anything else on your device.

Some are useful. Some exist purely to track your behaviour across the web and sell that data to advertisers. We use the first kind. We don't use the second.

What we use

Strictly necessary cookies keep the site working. They handle things like remembering your cookie preferences so you don't get asked every time you visit. Without these, parts of the site won't function correctly. They can't be switched off, but they don't collect anything that identifies you personally.

That's the complete list for the core site.

We don't use analytics cookies from platforms like Google Analytics. We don't run advertising, so there are no ad-targeting or retargeting cookies. There is no social media tracking pixel quietly phoning home to Facebook, X, or anywhere else.

Third-party content

Occasionally an article may include embedded content from an external source — a video player, an interactive data visualisation, or a map. When that content loads, the third party serving it may place its own cookies on your device. We don't control that and can't speak to what those providers do with the data they collect.

Where we have a choice, we use privacy-friendly embed methods that don't load third-party cookies until you actively interact with the content. Where we don't have that option, we'll note it.

If you want to block all third-party cookies regardless of the site you're visiting, that setting exists in every major browser and will not break anything on this site.

Your choices

When you first visit, you'll be asked whether you accept cookies beyond the strictly necessary ones. If we ever add optional cookies, for things like remembering your display preferences, that consent prompt will be how you control them.

You can also manage cookies directly through your browser. Every major browser lets you view, delete, and block cookies. The relevant settings pages are usually under Privacy, Security, or Site Settings depending on which browser you use. Clearing cookies from this site will reset your preferences but nothing else will break.

If you're using a browser extension that blocks trackers, it will work here without any issues. There's nothing to fight against.

What we don't do

We don't use cookies to build a profile of you. We don't share cookie data with advertisers or data brokers. We don't use fingerprinting techniques as a workaround to identify you without cookies. We don't use cookies to track you after you leave this site.

Contact

If you have questions about how cookies work on this site, write to us here.