The Legal Bit · Cookies
Small text files, big legal fuss,
and the truth of what we actually use.
Last updated May 19, 2026
Cookies. They sound delicious. They are not. A cookie is a tiny text file that a website asks your browser to keep, so it can remember something useful the next time you visit. Every website on the internet would otherwise treat you as a complete stranger every time you clicked a link, which would make logging in roughly as fun as paint stripper.
We use cookies for two honest reasons. The first is to make the site work, which is the same reason your kettle has a switch. The second is so we can see, in aggregate, which of our stories you actually finish, which products are worth the warehouse space, and which clever marketing ideas were in fact a complete waste of money.
On this page
Section 01
What a cookie is, technically
A cookie is a key-value pair stored in your browser. We also use a couple of related technologies, including local storage (a slightly larger memory box your browser offers websites) and pixel tags (a one-pixel image that loads from another server to confirm a page was viewed). Where this policy says "cookies" we mean all of that.
Section 02
Which cookies we use
Here is the actual list, by category. Strictly-necessary cookies are switched on whether you like it or not, because the site cannot function without them. Everything else respects your choices.
| Name | Purpose | Duration | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
| autodyssey.sid | Keeps you logged in. Without it the site would forget you between every click, which would be annoying for everyone. | 30 days, rolling | Strictly necessary |
| autodyssey.csrf | Protects forms against cross-site request forgery, which is the sort of trick a bored teenager in another country might try. | Session | Strictly necessary |
| autodyssey.cart | Remembers what is in your shopping cart so it does not vanish when you wander off to read a story. | 14 days | Strictly necessary |
| autodyssey.consent | Records the cookie preferences you set, so we do not ask you the same question every time you visit. | 12 months | Strictly necessary |
| autodyssey.theme | Remembers whether you prefer the dark or the light Vault theme. | 12 months | Preferences |
| _ga, _ga_XXXX | Google Analytics 4. Tells us how many people read a story, which products people look at, and which pages they bounce off in disgust. IP addresses are anonymised. | Up to 2 years | Analytics (opt-in) |
| _fbp | Meta pixel. Helps us understand whether the ads we run on Facebook and Instagram actually sent anyone our way. | 90 days | Marketing (opt-in) |
| __stripe_mid, __stripe_sid | Stripe fraud-prevention cookies set on the checkout page so that thieves cannot use your card. | Up to 1 year | Strictly necessary |
Section 03
Why we use the analytics ones
Running this place costs money. Servers, photographers, the chap who solders the tail-light wiring on every Heritage tote bag (he does not, in fact, exist, but you take the point). The analytics cookies tell us, in aggregate, which stories people read all the way through, which products are worth investing in, and which marketing campaigns sent us five customers and a complaint. Without that signal we would be redecorating in the dark.
We do not look at what individual users do. We do not sell the data. We do not pass it to advertising networks for targeting beyond Meta's own conversion measurement, which we use only to know whether an ad worked, not to follow you around with banners for six months afterwards.
Section 04
Your choices
A cookie banner appears on your first visit. You can accept all cookies, reject all but the strictly-necessary ones, or open the preferences panel and pick category by category. You can change your mind at any time from the "Cookie preferences" link in the footer of every page.
You can also go further and configure your browser to refuse cookies altogether. The site will still load. Some of it, including logging in and the shopping cart, will not work. That is not a moral judgement, it is just how the underlying technology functions.
Section 05
Third-party cookies
A handful of cookies are set by third parties we have chosen to work with. Stripe sets fraud-prevention cookies on the checkout page. Cloudinary may set short-lived performance cookies on image delivery. YouTube and similar embedded players, where you choose to play one, set their own. Each provider's own cookie policy applies to their cookies, and links to those policies are kept on our help pages.
Section 06
Do Not Track and Global Privacy Control
We honour the Global Privacy Control signal where your browser sends it. We do not currently respond to the older Do Not Track header because there is no consistent industry standard for what it means.
Section 07
Changes to this policy
The table above will be updated whenever we add, remove, or change a cookie. The "last updated" date at the top of the page reflects the most recent change. Material changes will trigger the consent banner again so that you can review your choices.
Section 08
Questions
Any particular cookie bothering you, or curious about what we do with the data? Write to privacy@autodyssey.com. We will answer in proper English.