What we set, and what we don't

The short version: we set no analytics cookies until you say yes, we don't advertise to you, we don't sell anything about you, and the site works exactly the same whether you accept or refuse.

If you do nothing, or refuse

One cookie is set either way: a small record of your answer, so we don't ask again on every page. It's called tgc_consent, it holds a single word — granted or denied — it lasts about six months, and it goes nowhere near a third party. Under the UK's PECR rules this counts as strictly necessary, which is why it doesn't need your permission: it exists to remember that you withheld permission.

Until you accept, nothing is requested from Google at all. We don't load Google's script and then hold it back — the script is never fetched, so no request leaves your browser for Google's servers.

If you accept

We load Google Analytics 4, which sets two cookies: _ga and _ga_<stream>. Both last two years and both hold a randomly generated number that lets Google tell one browser apart from another, so a person reading four pages isn't counted as four people.

What we can see: which pages were read and in what order, roughly where in the world the reader was, whether they were on a phone or a laptop, which browser, what site or search sent them, how far down a page they scrolled, and which outbound links they clicked. What we cannot see: who you are, your name, your email address, or anything you've typed. We don't send Google any personal details, because we don't have any — the site has no accounts and no sign-up.

Google works out your approximate location from your IP address and then discards it; Google Analytics 4 does not store IP addresses. Data may be processed on Google's servers outside the UK, including in the United States. We keep analytics data for 14 months, after which Google deletes it automatically.

We use this for one thing: working out which guides actually help people and which ones are quietly failing, so we know what to rewrite. It is not linked to advertising — Google Signals and ad personalisation are switched off on our property.

Changing your mind

Analytics is not currently running on this build of the site, so there is nothing to switch off.

You can also block or delete cookies in your browser's own settings, or use its "do not track" and anti-tracking features. Nothing on this site will break if you do.

Affiliate links

We're still setting up our retail partnerships, so there are currently no affiliate cookies on this site. When those links go live, clicking one will typically let the retailer set its own cookie so they can credit us for the referral. We'll update this page before that happens, not after — see our affiliate policy for how we handle the commercial side generally.

Questions

If something here doesn't match what you're seeing in your browser, we'd genuinely like to know — that would be a bug, and a serious one. The same goes for anything on the site you think is wrong: see about and how we verify.

Last updated 2 August 2026.