Cookies Policy

Cookies are tiny pieces of text your browser stores on behalf of a website. When you come back, the website asks the browser for them so it can remember things — that you’re logged in, that you prefer dark mode, that you already dismissed the newsletter pop-up.

Some cookies are set by us directly (“first-party”). Some are set by services we embed, like analytics (“third-party”). This page lists every cookie we set on TECHi, who sets it, and what it’s for.

These keep TECHi working. Turning them off either signs you out or breaks features. They’re considered “strictly necessary” under UK and EU rules and don’t require consent.

• payload-token — your login session. HTTP-only, secure, SameSite=Lax. Set by us. Removed when you sign out or after 30 days of inactivity.
• theme — light vs dark vs system preference. Set by us. Stays for a year.
• __stripe_mid / __stripe_sid — Stripe’s anti-fraud tokens, set on payment pages only. Stripe needs these to process your card safely.
• oauth-state — short-lived CSRF token used during Google / GitHub sign-in. Cleared once you finish signing in.

We use these to understand which articles get read, where readers come from, and how the site performs technically. They’re anonymised at the source and never linked to your account.

• _ga / _ga_* — Google Analytics 4. Tracks anonymised session activity. Configured with IP anonymisation enabled. 2-year expiry but the data we receive is bucketed by hour, not user.

We don’t set, and we don’t allow third parties to set:

• Advertising cookies (we don’t run on-site ads).
• Cross-site tracking pixels (Facebook Pixel, TikTok Pixel, etc.).
• Behavioural retargeting cookies that follow you to other websites.

When we embed third-party content (an YouTube video, an X / Twitter post), those services may set their own cookies as soon as the embed loads. Our embeds use privacy-enhanced modes where they offer them.

You can clear and block cookies from your browser’s settings:

• Chrome — Settings → Privacy and security → Cookies and other site data
• Firefox — Settings → Privacy & Security → Cookies and Site Data
• Safari — Settings → Privacy → Manage Website Data
• Edge — Settings → Cookies and site permissions → Cookies and site data

You can also opt out of Google Analytics tracking site-wide by installing the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on.

Note: blocking the essential cookies above will sign you out and may break parts of the site. The analytics cookies have no such effect — turn those off freely.

If we add or remove a cookie, this page is updated within a week. The “Last updated” date at the top reflects the most recent change. For the full picture of how data flows once a cookie has done its job, see our privacy policy.