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Privacy and cookies

By James Burfield, SEO consultant, Bath · Page updated

Short version: this site sets one set of cookies, from Google Analytics, to count visits. Nothing else. You can switch it off on this page and the choice sticks.

What we collect

We use Google Analytics 4 to see how many people visit, which pages they read, and roughly where in the world they are. It tells us that 6,358 place pages exist and which twelve of them anyone actually reads, which is how we decide what to build next.

We do not ask for your name or email, there are no accounts, and there is no newsletter. We have never sold data and there is nothing here to sell.

The cookies, specifically

CookieSet byPurposeExpires
_gaGoogle AnalyticsDistinguishes one visitor from another so repeat visits are not counted twice2 years
_ga_FDL3DHE7P4Google AnalyticsKeeps the current session going2 years

That is the complete list. No advertising cookies, no social media pixels, no session replay, no fingerprinting, no third-party trackers beyond Google Analytics itself.

Those two are set only if you accept. Until then, and permanently if you refuse, Google is never contacted: the script is not downloaded and no cookie exists.

Where you stand right now

Turning it off also deletes the two cookies rather than just stopping new ones, so nothing is left sitting in your browser for two years after you have said no.

The choice is stored in your browser, not on our server, so it applies to this browser on this device. Clearing your browsing data resets it and you will be asked again. You can also use your browser's own cookie controls, or a tracker blocker, and this site works exactly the same either way.

Embeds

Our embeddable charts deliberately carry no analytics at all. When one of our charts appears on somebody else's site, we do not track the people reading it. That seemed like the only decent way to do it.

What else the site loads

Nothing. There are no web fonts, no icon libraries, no CDNs, no comment system, no chat widget. Every page is static HTML with one small stylesheet, which is why they load quickly. Google Analytics is the single third-party script on the site.

Server logs

Our host keeps standard web server logs, including IP addresses, for security and troubleshooting. That happens for every site on the internet and is not something we control or read routinely.

Your rights

Under UK GDPR you can ask what data relates to you, ask for it to be deleted, or object to it being processed. Given we hold no accounts and no contact details, in practice this means the analytics data, which Google holds. Ask via SEOBurf and we will do what we can. Google's own privacy policy covers what they do with it, and their browser add-on blocks Analytics across every site you visit.

Changes

If this site ever carries advertising, this page will say so before the ads appear, and you would be asked before anything was set. Last updated .