Cookie policy
Cookies are small files a website asks your browser to keep. Local storage is a similar space on your device where a page can remember things between visits. This page lists everything of either kind that The Data Trail uses, and the list is short.
No tracking cookies
We set no tracking cookies. There are no analytics, advertising or social media cookies here, and nothing that follows you from our pages to other sites. Reading the site does not require any cookie from us.
The staff sign-in cookie
Our team signs in to a private dashboard to publish guides and read messages. Signing in sets one cookie that keeps that session open. It is set only for staff, only after a successful sign-in, and it is removed when they sign out or when it expires. Readers never receive it.
Local storage in the checks
Some checks remember your progress so you can come back to them later. The opt-out checklist, for example, can keep track of the sites you have already contacted. That information is saved in your browser's local storage, on your device only. It is never sent to us, we cannot read it, and other websites cannot see it.
To remove it, clear this site's data in your browser settings. In a private window, it goes away as soon as you close the window.
Cloudflare
Cloudflare delivers our pages and protects the site from attacks. It may set a strictly necessary security cookie on our address that helps it tell real visitors from automated traffic. That cookie is not used for advertising, and we do not use it to follow what you read.
Partner cookies after you click
Some links lead to Amazon or to partner services we work with through CJ (Commission Junction). We do not load their scripts. A partner banner, shown on some privacy guides to readers in the United States, loads its image from CJ's servers. If you click one of their links, you arrive on their site, and they (and CJ) may set cookies there to record that you came from us. Those cookies belong to them and follow their own policies.
Your choices
Every browser lets you see, block and delete cookies and site data, usually under its privacy or security settings. Blocking third-party cookies does not change how this site works for readers. Clearing site data resets any checklist progress saved by the checks, so note anything you want to keep first.
Changes to this policy
If we ever add a cookie or a new use of local storage, we will describe it on this page before it goes live and change the date at the top. A new cookie would be listed here with what it does and how long it lasts.
Questions
For the full picture of what the site collects, see our privacy policy. Questions about cookies are welcome through the contact form.