FragDNA / Cookie policy
Cookies
Nothing optional is set until you say so in the cookie banner. Below is everything FragDNA can set, what each item is for, and which choice turns it on. Change your answer any time with Cookie settings.
What is set
| Name | Purpose | Lifetime |
|---|---|---|
fd_v |
Analytics — only if you accept. A random identifier that links this browser's visits on different days, so we can see how the site is used over time. Contains nothing you typed and nothing that names you. | 2 years |
_ga, _ga_<id> |
Analytics — only if you accept. Set by Google Analytics to count visits and how the site is used. Governed by Google's policy. | Up to 2 years |
| Google AdSense cookies | Ads — only if you accept. Set by Google to show, measure and possibly personalise the ads that keep FragDNA free. | Set by Google |
fd_oauth, fd_login |
Necessary. Set for ten minutes while you sign in with Google, to prove the reply from Google belongs to the sign-in you started. Then deleted. | 10 minutes |
fd_s |
Set only when you sign in. Keeps you signed in. Marked HttpOnly, so scripts on the page cannot read it. | 60 days |
The following live in your browser's local storage rather than in cookies, and never leave your device unless you sign in: your saved matches, your favourites, your language, your currency preference, how far through the course you have read, which votes you have cast, and whether you have already been shown the "create an account" prompt. Clearing site data removes all of them.
fd_consent (local storage) remembers your cookie-banner answer so we
don't ask again. One more item is different: fd_visit, a random visit
identifier with a timestamp. It is sent with each page view so the pages of one
visit can be read in order, and it is replaced after 30 minutes without
activity. Unless you accepted analytics it lives in session storage — this tab
only — and is gone when you close it. See the privacy policy for what the visit log
records.
Third parties
Signing in loads Google's identity script, which may set its own cookies under Google's control. If you never sign in, it is never used. Google's practices are governed by their own policy, not ours.
We use Cloudflare Web Analytics to count visits. It was chosen specifically because it sets no cookies and does not fingerprint or track anyone across sites — it reports page counts, referrers and countries in aggregate.
Measurement
Our own visit log counts every visit, one visit at a time, so we know which pages
help. Linking a browser's visits across days (fd_v) and Google
Analytics only happen if you accept analytics. Browsers that send Global Privacy
Control are treated as "Only necessary" and never asked.
Turning them off
Any browser can block cookies. The site will still work — you will simply not be able to stay signed in, and your votes may not be recorded.