Cookie policy

Last updated 17 September 2026

By Marcel Kempers

The short version

• We use no cookies by default.
• If you accept on the banner, we load a small analytics script served by our host, Vercel. It records aggregate page views and no personal identifiers.
• If you reject, nothing loads. Your choice is stored in your browser (in localStorage) so we do not ask again.
• You can change your mind any time via the Cookie preferences link in the footer.

That is it. The rest of this page is the detail behind those four sentences.

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What we store in your browser

We do not set any advertising, marketing or cross-site tracking cookies.

We do not use pixels, fingerprinting, session replay, heat-mapping or third-party embeds that set cookies.

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What the analytics do

If you accept, the analytics script loaded from our host records, in aggregate:

• Which page was visited.
• Approximate country (from the request, not from a cookie).
• Type of device and referring page, in broad categories.

It does not record:

• Your name or email address.
• Your IP address in any form we can read.
• Your browsing on other sites.
• Anything that could identify you as an individual.

We use this to see which articles are read and which programme pages people land on, which then guides what we write next.

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Third-party services

The site relies on two third-party services. Neither sets marketing cookies.

• Vercel hosts the site and serves the optional analytics script. Their privacy notice covers their side.
• FormSubmit relays the contact form submissions to our inbox. It does not set cookies on our behalf.

External links in articles (to journals, statistical sources, open datasets, other organisations) may set their own cookies once you click through, under their own rules. We do not control those.

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Changing or withdrawing consent

You can change your mind at any time:

• Click Cookie preferences in the footer of any page to bring the banner back.
• Clear your browser's storage for this site to reset everything to first-visit.
• Set your browser to reject storage on this site; the site will still work, and no analytics will load.

If you switch from Accept to Reject, we stop loading the analytics script on your next visit. The Vercel storage key associated with the previous session will expire on its own; we do not have a way to reach into your browser and delete it.

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What happens if you do nothing

If you close the banner without picking, no consent is recorded and no analytics load. The banner re-appears next visit. This is deliberate: no click, no consent, no tracking.

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Changes to this policy

If we ever add a category of cookie beyond what is listed above, we will update the table, bump the version stored in tl_consent_v1, and show the banner again so you can decide about the new category.

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See also our privacy policy and terms of use. To reach us about anything on this page, contact us.