How do we handle cookies?

Cookie policy pop-ups are a plague through which we need not suffer. Here's how we get around them.

What is a cookie?

Cookies are text files stored by the browser that contain pieces of information for the site to function. They can also be sent in request headers to the server to communicate information back and forth. This makes them incredibly useful for data processing, preferences and user tracking. Cookies cannot jump from one site to another but more on that later.

All cookies follow the same fundemental pattern. They contain a unique name for identification, a payload in the form of text, an expiry date and a few additional markers to define who can read them. With different combinations of these parts we can define different categories.

The different types of cookies

First party cookies are created by the site itself. These are generally core to the application and can be trusted.
Third party cookies are imported from other websites, analytics tools and advertisers. These are more questionable because we don't know where the data is going, what it says, or how long it's there for.
Session cookies only last the length of one browsing session. This time can vary but it's short.
Persistent cookies last a set period of time. Easily over a year (although they're strictly not meant to go further than a year).

These form the basics of cookie categorisation but we can take it one step further. Namely we can start identifying why we might want to block some of these.

Strictly necessary cookies essential for the functioning of the app and includes security cookies. Even blocking cookies will still allow these.
Preference / functionality cookies store settings and preferences for later use. These could for a color scheme, dark/light mode settings, what region you're in, etc…
Statistics cookies store info about where and how the user clicks through the site, which pages they visit, etc. They track data but it is typically not identifiable to you.
Marketing cookies are typically sourced from a third party. They deliver more relevant ad content. This information is shared externally. Third party user tracking is the primary reason why we require cookie legislation.

You will often see these listed on cookie notice pop-ups as a way to group cookies into categories for filtering.

What cookies do we use?

None. Easy peasy :)

If we add a feature that uses cookies we will be sure to update this page with a detailed report on each cookie and its purpose. This site was built around the specific requirement of a privacy centric user-experience. So that means that we don't share any details about you to third parties, and we extract almost nothing from you for personal use either. We do track which pages get viewed and in which order, but we don't store anything about you.