How cookies are used on the site

When you sign in, we set a single cookie that keeps you signed in. It holds a signed session token and nothing else, cannot be read by scripts on the page, and travels only over a secure connection to our own servers.

It lasts 7 days, or 30 if you tick “Remember me”, and it is removed when you sign out.

A few settings are kept in your browser’s own storage rather than in a cookie. They stay on your device, and clearing your browser’s data for this site removes them.

• Your cart, until you check out or empty it, and which account it belongs to, so it is emptied when another person signs in on the same device.
• Your light or dark theme, if you choose one.
• Your cookie choice, so we do not ask you again.
• Whether you closed the prompt to install the app, or the reminder to confirm your email.
• If you work for the syndicate, a flag that keeps your own visits out of our visit counts.

If you are signed in, we also keep a record of your cookie choice with your account.

We count visits ourselves, without cookies and without following you to other sites. Each page you open sends us its address and, for the first, the site that sent you, and who you are is reduced to a code scrambled afresh each day.

Counting runs only if you allow analytics, and stops as soon as you withdraw that choice.

A few pages load a service from another company, which may set that company’s own cookies under its own policy.

• Stripe, on the payment page you are taken to at checkout, where its cookies help prevent fraud.
• Cloudflare Turnstile, on sign-in, registration and similar forms, to tell people from automated sign-ups.
• Google, on the sign-in and registration pages for its sign-in button, and on our contact page if you choose to load the map.
• Meta, on our Social page, whose photographs load from Instagram.

Use Cookie Settings at the foot of any page to allow or refuse analytics, and change your mind at any time. The sign-in cookie is needed for the site to work while you are signed in, so it cannot be switched off, but signing out removes it.

You can also block or delete cookies in your browser. Blocking every cookie will stop you signing in.

If we add a cookie or change what one does, we update this page and its date before it goes live.